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PANORAMA: Triathlon appears to be the first gold on tap at LA28; open-water 10 km delayed for pollution at Singapore Worlds; Healy leads Tour de France!

By
Rich Perelman
-
Venice beach, site of the first scheduled medal event of the 2028 Olympic Games: triathlon (Photo: LA28).

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Games 2028: Los Angeles ● A few more notes from the Monday announcement of the by-sport and by-session schedules for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles:

● First event: The first competitions will be on 12 July, a couple of days before the opening, for the team sports of cricket (Pomona Fairgrounds), handball (Long Beach Arena) and field hockey at the Dignity Health Sports Center, all starting at 9 a.m. local time. Look for some preliminary football matches to be added later that might be even earlier.

● First medal: The first event to be completed appears to be one of the triathlons, on 15 July at Venice Beach, starting at 7:30 a.m. (if the weather and the water are OK). Next up appears to be Canoe Slalom racing in Oklahoma City, with the session on 14 July running from 9 a.m. to noon local time and 7-10 a.m. L.A. times.

● Last event: The final events shown on the schedule are at SoFi Stadium in swimming, at 4:30 p.m., possibly the 4×100 m medley relays, ending just 90 minutes before the closing ceremonies at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. No time is shown for the final-day marathon, which could end even later, but would be running in late-afternoon heat in Los Angeles.

A total of 844 ticketed sessions are currently scheduled. There will be many tweaks on the road to 2028, but that’s what the Monday announcement shows now.

LA28 and the City of Los Angeles announced Monday that the PlayLA program, powered by $160 million from the International Olympic Committee, has reached the one million mark in registered participants.

● Aquatics ● Water quality for open-water swimming isn’t an issue only for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and the Seine River, as World Aquatics postponed the open-water opener of the 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore on Monday:

“The Women’s 10km event was originally scheduled to take place on 15 July 2025 at 8:00 a.m. Following a review involving representatives from World Aquatics, the Singapore 2025 Organising Committee, the World Aquatics Sports Medicine Committee, and the World Aquatics Open Water Swimming Technical Committee, the decision was made to postpone the race in the utmost interest of athlete safety.”

Water samples on Sunday (13th) showed unacceptable pollution levels, so the women’s and men’s 10 km races are now slated for 16 July (Wednesday); an off-day is scheduled for the 17th.

Swimswam.com reported that entries for the swimming portion of the World Aquatics Championships show 30 Russians – 18 men and 12 women – admitted as neutrals by World Aquatics. Russia had one swimmer at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

● Cycling ● Monday’s eight-climb stage across 165.3 km to the uphill finish at Le Mont turned the 112th Tour de France inside out. A breakaway group of 29 finally came down to five men and then to British star Simon Yates – the Giro d’Italia winner – who attacked with 3 km left and won in 4:20:05 for his third career Tour stage win.

Behind him was Thymen Arensman (NED: +0:09), then stage 6 winner Ben Healy of Ireland (+0:31). The race leaders were way back, with Tadej Pogacar (SLO: +4:51) in ninth and two-time winner Jonas Vingegaard (DEN: +4:51) in 10th.

So, Healy took the yellow jersey going into Tuesday’s rest day, 29 seconds up on Pogacar, and 1:29 ahead of Remco Evenepoel (BEL), 1:46 up on Vingegaard and 2:06 ahead of American Matteo Jorgenson.

● Football ● The FIFA Club World Cup ended Sunday with an excellent crowd of 81,118 – biggest of the tournament – at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey for Chelsea’s 3-0 win over Paris-St. Germain.

Overall, the expanded event had a total attendance of 2,491,462 or 39,547 per match, far beyond what this event drew previously as a small tournament on the FIFA schedule. But, even with NFL stadiums available for most of the matches, some marquee European clubs playing and a lot of pre-event hype, it was far behind the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar – also with 32 teams and 104 matches – that drew 3,404,252 spectators or 53,191 per match.

The semifinals and finals were all held at MetLife – the site for the World Cup final in 2026 – which drew strong crowds of 70,556 and 77,542 for the semis and then a close-to-capacity crowd for the final. FIFA has the idea to hold the tournament again in 2029.

● Rowing ● World Rowing found a replacement for Rio de Janeiro (BRA), which withdrew suddenly in May as the host of the 2025 Beach Sprint Finals in October. Instead, Antalya (TUR), which is already hosting the European Beach Sprint Finals from 8-13 October, will also hold the World Rowing Beach Sprint finals from 6-9 November.

The Beach Sprint has been added to the 2028 Olympic program, as the Lightweight classes in rowing were eliminated.

● Triathlon ● Australian Matt Hauser won the men’s World Triathlon Championship Series race in Hamburg (GER), then came back to help his Australian team take Sunday’s Mixed Relay and earn the 2025 World Championship gold.

The Aussies were seventh entering the final leg, with Hauser trailing 2021 European Champion Dorian Connix (FRA), as Olympic champion Cassandra Beaugrand had given the French an 18-second advantage over Australian third leg Emma Jeffcoat. But Hauser made up 16 seconds on the swim and was essentially even starting the 1.6 km run. He completed the two laps in 4:23 to 4:27 for Connix to end a 1:16:52 to 1:16:55 victory. Germany was third at 1:16:59; the U.S. was eighth at 1:17:52, with Taylor Spivey, Chase McQueen, Erika Ackerlund and John Reed.

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LOS ANGELES 2028: LA28 marks three years to go with first release of sports schedule and session times

By
Rich Perelman
-
Artist’s rendering of track & field at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum at the 2028 Olympic Games (provided by LA28)

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≡ LA28 SCHEDULE RELEASE ≡

If you like to think ahead, now is the time to get out your calendar and sketch out your plans for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. On Monday, marking three years to go before the opening on 14 July 2028, the organizing committee released the first presentation of the sports schedules by day and by session.

There will be some changes, but the basic outline of the Games is now available. By sport (use of “dates” indicates off days in the schedule), there are 50 sports or disciplines with schedules in Los Angeles:

● Aquatics/Artistic: 5 days from 25-29 July
● Aquatics/Diving: 11 dates from 15-28 July
● Aquatics/Open Water: 2 days from 17-18 July
● Aquatics/Swimming: 9 days from 22-30 July
● Aquatics/Water Polo: 11 dates from 12-23 July

● Archery: 8 days from 21-28 July
● Athletics/T&F: 10 days from 15-24 July
● Athletics/Road: 3 dates from 27-30 July
● Badminton: 10 days from 15-24 July
● Baseball: 6 days from 15-20 July

● Basketball/3×3: 7 days from 16-22 July
● Basketball/5×5: 18 dates from 12-30 July
● Boxing/prelims: 9 days from 15-23 July
● Boxing/finals: 4 days from 27-30 July
● Canoe/Sprint: 5 days from 25-29 July

● Cricket: 16 dates from 12-29 July
● Cycling/BMX-Free: 2 days from 28-29 July
● Cycling/BMX-Race: 2 days from 15-16 July
● Cycling/Mtn. Bike: 2 days from 17-18 July
● Cycling/Road: 3 dates from 19-23 July

● Cycling/Track: 6 days from 25-30 July
● Equestrian: 13 dates from 15-29 July
● Fencing: 9 days from 15-22 July
● Flag Football: 8 days from 15-22 July
● Football/semis-finals: 5 dates from 24-29 July

● Golf: 10 dates from 19-29 July
● Gymnastics/Artistic: 10 dates from 15-25 July
● Gymnastics/Rhythmic: 3 days from 27-29 July
● Gymnastics/Trampoline: 1 day on 20 July
● Handball: 16 dates from 12-28 July

● Hockey: 17 dates from 12-29 July
● Judo: 8 days from 15-22 July
● Lacrosse: 6 days from 24-29 July
● Modern Pent.: 4 days from 15-18 July
● Rowing/Classic: 8 days from 15-22 July

● Rowing/Coastal: 2 days from 24-25 July
● Rugby Sevens: 6 dates from 12-18 July
● Sailing: 11 dates from 16-28 July
● Shooting: 11 days from 15-25 July
● Skateboard: 6 dates from 18-27 July

● Sport Climbing: 6 days from 24-29 July
● Squash: 10 days from 15-24 July
● Surfing: 4 days from 15-18 July
● Table Tennis: 15 days from 15-29 July
● Taekwondo: 4 days from 26-29 July

● Tennis: 10 days from 19-28 July
● Triathlon: 3 dates from 15-20 July
● Volleyball/beach: 14 days from 15-29 July
● Volleyball/indoor: 16 days from 15-30 July
● Weightlifting: 5 days from 25-29 July

● Wrestling: 7 days from 24-30 July

In Oklahoma City (2):
● Canoe/Slalom: 9 days from 14-22 July
● Softball: 7 days from 23-29 July

As is the norm, several team sports will start early, with baseball, cricket, football, handball, hockey and Rugby Sevens all starting on Wednesday, 12 July.

There are no dates or venues announced yet for the track & field walks or the cycling road races, and no venue yet for mountain biking. Preliminary football matches will be held outside of Los Angeles from 12-22 July.

The session schedule is broken down by venue group, a handy way to gauge what one could see within the same general area; this especially helpful for multi-venue sites such as the Los Angeles Convention Center, the Dignity Health Sports Center in Carson or the Sepulveda Basin Recreation Center in the San Fernando Valley.

Observed: The LA28 organizers made some clear choices about how the Games will flow, no doubt in consultation with NBC, as well as the International Olympic Committee and the International Federations.

The first week, usually the best for television audiences in the U.S., features track & field and artistic gymnastics, scheduled to be programmed consecutively:

● Gymnastics: the four finals days on 17-18-19-20 July are from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., with the 17th starting at 5:15 p.m.

● Track & Field: the same four days have afternoon sessions starting at 4 p.m. and finishing about 6:40 p.m., so some overlap, but not much. The session on the 17th runs longer, to 7:15 p.m. Everything will be in sunshine.

Baseball is in the first week – 15-20 July – set up to replace the annual All-Star Break with a few more days thrown in. Same for Flag Football, also in the first week from 15-22 July, so whatever NFL players are involved can get back for training camp. This is not by coincidence.

The second week is now devoted to swimming and the team sports, with track & field ending on Monday (24th) and swimming overlapping, starting on the 22nd, with just  one open day after the end of artistic gymnastics.

Further, the schedule also points to clear hot spots for transportation. The downtown Los Angeles and Exposition Park areas will be overloaded during the first week. Expo Park, especially, will need significant park-and-ride support (as in 1984) to handle:

● 67,000: Coliseum seating after adding the track
● 22,000: BMO Stadium capacity for flag football and lacrosse
● 16,000: Argue/LA84 Swim Stadium for diving

Now, the BMO Stadium seating could be reduced to create a more intimate setting for flag and lacrosse, but the building now has seating for 22,000 for football (soccer). The seating estimate for diving is based off of the renderings created by LA28 and could be way off. But it’s 100,000 people or so in a tight space; nothing the Coliseum has not handled before by itself, but there will be three venues running concurrently for the first week, with a lot of moving parts and next-to-no on-site parking.

Offering this much detail three years out is a good milestone for LA28 and sets up the discussions which need to be had an a fairly early stage.

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PANORAMA: USOPC welcomes 14 new Hall of Famers; 1.1 million TV audience for Pre Classic; U.S.-Russia in wrestling dual next week

By
Rich Perelman
-
American sprint star Melissa Jefferson-Wooden winning the 2025 Pre Classic women's 100 m (Photo: Diamond League AG).

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee ● The Class of 2025 was inducted into the USOPC Hall of Fame in ceremonies in Colorado Springs, Colorado on Saturday, with 14 superstar inductees: five Olympians, one Olympic team, three Paralympians, one Paralympic team, two legends, one coach and one special contributor:

● Olympian: Gabby Douglas (artistic gymnastics)
● Olympian: Allyson Felix (track & field)
● Olympian: Bode Miller (alpine skiing)
● Olympian: Kerri Walsh Jennings (beach volleyball)
● Olympian: Serena Williams (tennis)
● Olympic Team: 2010 Four-man Bobsled Team

● Paralympian: Steve Cash (sled hockey)
● Paralympian: Susan Hagel (Para archery-track & field-wh’chair basketball)
● Paralympian: Marla Runyan (Para track and field)
● Paralympic team: 2004 Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Team

● Legend: Anita DeFrantz (rowing-LAOOC-IOC)
● Legend: Flo Hyman (volleyball)
● Coach: Mike Krzyzewski (basketball)
● Contributor: Phil Knight (Nike founder)

This group represented the U.S. at a combined 42 Olympic and Paralympic Games, winning 51 total medals, including 35 golds!

From 119 nominees, a panel narrowed the finalists to 42, with more than 300,000 votes cast by U.S. Olympians and Paralympians, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic family and fans.

The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame was established in 1979, with the first class inducted in 1983; the 2025 class was the 18th. The ceremony was attended by International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry (ZIM), among many others.

● Athletics ● Another strong audience for track & field on NBC as the Prefontaine Classic on Saturday, 5 July drew an average of 1.1 million, according to NBC. This compares to (all on NBC):

● 2024-May: 1.166 million
● 2023-Sep.: 744,000 and 755,000 for 2-day Diamond League final
● 2022-May: 977,000
● 2021-Aug.: 1,177,000 (Covid schedule impact)

Track & field meets have done well on NBC, but with much smaller audiences elsewhere.

● Gymnastics ● The Federation Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG) announced a revision of its rules for allowing participation of Russian and Belarusian gymnasts, with “refinements” to the rules regarding “government affiliation” and “[a]ctive support for the regime, including public statements, interviews and social media activity.”

Due to the changes, “previously rejected applications [may] be resubmitted.”

Russian Gymnastics Federation head Oleg Belozerov said. “We are satisfied that our arguments were taken into account by the members of the executive committee.”

● Wrestling ● The Russian news agency TASS reported that a dual meet between younger wrestlers of the U.S. and Russia will compete in a dual meet on 21 July in Budapest (HUN) within the framework of the Professional Wrestling League.

These are not the first-line, senior national teams from either country, and only in the 10 men’s Freestyle weight classes. Mikhail Mamiashvili, President of the Russian Wrestling Federation, told the Russian news agency TASS that two more matches will be held, one in Russia and one in the U.S.

The last time the U.S. and Russia met in a dual meet was in 2013 in New York as part of an international effort to return wrestling to the Olympic program.

≡ RESULTS ≡

● Archery ● At the World Archery World Cup IV in Madrid (ESP), Mexico’s 21-year-old Matias Grande announced his arrival, winning the men’s Recurve gold with a 6-0 shutout of France’s Baptiste Adams. Korea’s Chae-young Kang, a four-time Worlds Team gold medalist, won the women’s Recurve with a 6-5 shoot-off (10-9) thriller against Hsin-Tzu Hsu (TPE).

France won the men’s Recurve Team title by 6-2 over the U.S. squad of Brady Ellison, Trenton Cowles and Christian Stoddard. Korea won the women’s Team final over China, with the American women – Catalina GNoriega, Casey Kaufhold and Jennifer Mucino – taking the bronze over Chinese Taipei, 6-2.

The U.S. struck gold in the Recurve Mixed Team, with Mucino and Ellison teaming up to defeat Korea, 5-3, in the final.

In the men’s Compound final, 2013 World Champion Mike Schloesser (NED) scored a 146-144 win over Turkey’s Emircan Haney, and 2022 World Games champ Ella Gibson (GBR) won the women’s final, 148-147 against India’s Jyothi Vennam. The Compound Mixed Team, which will be an LA28 event, went to Schoesser and Sanne de Laat (NED) over South Korea, 155-153.

● Athletics ● At the Sunset Tour Los Angeles meet on Saturday evening, Ethiopia’s 19-year-old Senayet Getachew moved to no. 6 on the world list for 2025 with a 30:36.67 win in the women’s 10,000 m, beating countrywoman Asayech Ayichew (30:47.24, no. 9).

Josette Andrews won the women’s 1,500 m in 4:00.10, now no. 5 in the U.S. in 2025 and Meghan Hunter got a lifetime best of 1:58.21 to take the women’s 800, now no. 4 in the U.S. this year.

Isaac Updike won the men’s Steeple in 8:13.64, now no. 2 U.S. in 2025, and Kenyan Brian Musau, the 18-year-old NCAA 5,000 m champ for Oklahoma State, won the 5,000 m in a lifetime best of 12:59.82. Jamaica’s Navasky Anderson set a national record in winning the men’s 800 m in 1:44.40.

At Sunday’s international meet in Marseille (FRA), American Demarius Smith won the men’s 400 m in a lifetime best of 45.19, followed by the returning Randolph Ross, in 45.41.

Ross, now 24, was the 2021 and 2022 NCAA 400 m winner for North Carolina A&T, was third at the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials, and won a 4×400 m relay gold for the U.S. at Tokyo 2020 (best of 43.85). But he was suspended for three years in 2022 for “whereabouts” failures, and became eligible on 1 July.

He’s still short of the USATF Nationals automatic qualifying standard of 45.20, with a week remaining before the cut-off date of 20 July, and likely needs to run faster to get in.

Amanda Vestri scored her first win and third national championships medal of the season at the USATF women’s 6 km Championship in Canton, Ohio. She ran away from the field after about 1.5 km and won in 18:28.57. Annie Frisbee was a distant second in 18:3526, with Fiona O’Keeffe third in 18:37.18.

Vestri was second in this race in 2024 and had already finished third at the national Half Marathon champs in March and second at four miles in June. Now, she has her first national title.

● Cycling ● At the 112th Tour de France, race favorite and three-time champion Tadej Pogacar (SLO) popped back into the lead on Friday, winning the hilly Friday stage of 197 km to the Mur-de-Bretagne. A group of seven raced on the uphill finish and Pogacar and two-time winner Jonas Vingegaard (DEN) crossed in the same time of 4:05:39.

With Dutch star Mathieu van der Poel back in 22nd (+1:20), Pogacar took the yellow jersey once again, with a 54-second lead on double Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel (BEL) and 1:11 on Kevin Vanquelin (FRA).

Saturday’s 171.4 km race to Laval was the expected mass finish, with Italian sprint star Jonathan Milan edging Wout van Aert (BEL) in 3:50:26; the top 51 finishers were awarded the same time. Sunday’s 174.1 km ride to Chateauroux was another sprinter’s stage, with Belgian Tim Merlier winning his second stage of the Tour in 3:28:52, ahead of Milan, with the top 63 riders recording the same time.

So, heading into Monday, it’s Pogacar, Evenepoel (+0:54) and Vanquelin (+1:11), followed by Vingegaard (+1:17) and American Matteo Jorgenson (+1:34). (Monday is a rest day, as usual; thanks to Dr. Bill Mallon for a correction.)

The 36th women’s Giro d’Italia finished in Imola on Sunday,with a happy ending for the home fans with a win for Italian star Elisa Longo Borghini.

Swiss Marlen Reusser finished fifth in Thursday’s stage, and maintained the overall lead, then was given a yellow card and fined CHF 750 for “intimidation, insults directed to a rider and behavour that endangers others” in the final sprint against Italian Katia Ragusa, who finished ninth.

German Liane Lippert won Friday’s 145 km, hilly sixth stage from Pauliena Rooijakkers (NED) in 3:53:01 to 3:53:03, with the main contenders in a large group, and Reusser continuing in the lead. Things changed on Saturday, with the major uphill finish of the 150 km route to Monte Nerone. Australia’s Sarah Gigante won her second stage of the Giro, attacking with 2.5 km and racing away from Longo Borghini (+0:45). Canada’s Isabella Holmgren was third (+1:14) and then came Reusser at +1:17.

That gave Longo Borghini, the defending champion, the lead by 22 seconds on Reusser, with Gigante third at 1:11, with only the 134 km, hilly finale remaining. Lippert won again, out-dueling Dutch star Anna van der Breggen to the line in 3:40:07, with Reusser and Long Borghini leading the chase pack, eight seconds behind.

Even with a four-second time bonus, Reusser had to settle for second, 18 seconds behind Longo Borghini (24:37:03), who won her fourth medal in this race (2-1-1). Gigante stayed in third at +1:11; Ruth Edwards was the top American, in 46th.

Two-time Olympic champion Tom Pidcock (GBR) starred in the men’s Cross-Country Olympic race at the UCI Mountain Bike World Series in Pal Arinsal (AND), winning his first medal of the season in 1:20:30, well ahead of France’s Luca Martin (1:20:53) and fellow Brit Charlie Aldridge (1:21:22).

New Zealand’s Sammie Maxwell kept her streak alive as the only woman to win medals in all six XCO races this season, getting her second win in 1:25:31. That was nine second up on Swiss Alessandra Keller (1:25:40) with Sweden’s 2016 Rio Olympic champ Jenny Rissveds third (1:25:46).

American Christopher Blevins had won all five men’s Short Track races this season, but was finally stopped by 2023 Worlds U-23 winner Martin at the line, with both in 22:00. Mathis Azzaro (FRA: 22:02) got third. Keller, the 2022 Worlds XCC runner-up, took the women’s race in 20:32, with Evie Richards (GBR) second in 20:36.

Five-time World Champion Loic Bruni (FRA) stopped Canadian Jackson Goldstone’s streak in the men’s Downhill at four in a row, winning in 2:34.367. Goldstone was a close second in 2:35.646 and French two-time Worlds winner Loris Vergier third (2:36.534). Four-time Worlds medalist Tahnee Seagrave (GBR) got her 11th career World Cup win in 2:56.835, ahead of three-time World Champion Valentina Hoell (AUT: 2:58;651 and Norway’s Mille Johnset (2:58.825).

● Football ● Temperatures of 81 F (with 69%) humidity greeted the final of the FIFA Club World Cup at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, with underdog Chelsea scoring three first-half goals from forward Cole Palmer (ENG: 22nd and 30th) and striker Joao Pedro (BRA: 43rd), despite only 30% possession in the half against Paris St.-Germain.

The second half had no scoring, and PSG became increasing frustrated, with a red card for a bad hair-pull by midfielder Joao Neves (POR) in the 85th minute, and an on-field pushing-and-shoving match that included PSG manager Luis Enrique (ESP) and star keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma (ITA).

PSG ended with 66% possession in front of a big house of 81,118, but Chelsea ended with a 10-8 edge on shots. Chelsea’s Robert Sanchez (ESP) was superb in goal, with five saves.

The 14th edition of the UEFA women’s European Championship is in Switzerland, with the group stage finishing on Sunday and the quarterfinals set to start on 17 July.

Norway (Group A), Spain (B), Sweden (C) and France (D) all went 3-0 in their groups, with Spain leading the scoring with 14 total goals while giving up three. In the quarters:

● 16 July: Norway (3-0) vs. Italy (1-1-1)
● 17 July: Sweden (3-0) vs. England (2-1)
● 18 July: Spain (3-0) vs. Switzerland (1-1-1)
● 19 July: France (3-0) vs. Germany (2-1)

The semis will be on 22-23 July and the final on 27 July, in Basel.

● Sailing ● Britain swept the IQ Foil World Championships in Aarhus (DEN), with Andy Brown and Emma Wilson taking the medal races.

Wilson, the Paris 2024 bronze medalist and the 2024 Worlds runner-up, was the best during the week with 28 net points, then won the third and final medal race to win the overall title. Tamar Steinberg (ISR) earned the silver medal, finishing 3-1-3 in the three medal races, then Theresa Steinlein (GER) with the bronze (1-3-4).

Brown was second in the first medal race, but won the second and earned his first Worlds medal. France’s Tom Arnoux was third and second for silver, with Nicolo Renna third and second for the bronze.

● Shooting ● At the ISSF Shotgun World Cup in Lonato (ITA), Italy’s 55-year-old, triple Olympic silver medalist Giovanni Pellielo hit his last 43 targets in a row to win the men’s Trap final at 48/50! That was just enough to get past Britain’s Matthew Coward-Holley, 30, the Tokyo 2020 bronzer, who scored 46/50. American Walton Eller, the Double Trap Olympic winner in 2008, finished fourth.

Australia’s Laetisha Scanlan, fourth in Paris, won the women’s Trap final, scoring 45/50, to best Paris silver star Silvana Stanco (ITA: 43). American Rachel Tozier finished sixth. Scanlan and Mitchell Iles teamed up to win the Trap Mixed Team gold, 45-41, over Spain.

● Sport Climbing ●/Updated/ American Sam Watson, the Olympic bronze winner, claimed his fifth career IFSC World Cup, in Chamonix (FRA), winning the men’s Speed final in 4.65, to 4.87 for Rishat Khaibullin (KAZ), with American Zach Hammer taking the bronze at 4.96.

Poland’s Olympic Speed gold medalist Aleksandra Miroslaw took the women’s title, timing 6.19 to 6.46 for Desak Made Rita Kusuma Dewi (INA). American Emma Hunt, the 2023 Worlds runner-up, grabbed the bronze (6.35).

In the Lead finals, Japan’s 18-year-old sensation, Soratu Anraku, won his 11th career World Cup by reaching the top. Spain’s Alberto Gines was second at 43+ and Italian Filip Schenk also scored 43+, for third. Korea’s 2021 World Champion Chae-hyun Seo took the women’s Lead final at 44+, just ahead of American Annie Sanders (43+) and Britain’s Erin McNeice (42+). Brooke Raboutou of the U.S. was fourth (40+).

● Table Tennis ● The first appearance of the World Table Tennis United States Smash – with a $1.55 million prize purse – concluded Sunday in Las Vegas, Nevada, with China reaching four of the five finals, and winning three.

In the Singles finals, Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto (JPN), a Tokyo 2020 Team bronze winner, upset top-seed Shidong Lin (CHN) in the semis, 4-3, and faced no. 2, two-time Paris 2024 team gold winner Chuqin Wang (CHN). It was all Wang, winning 4-0 (11-3, 11-6, 11-6, 12-10). The women’s final had unseeded Yi Chen (CHN) facing four-time Worlds Team gold medalist Yuling Zhu – now affiliated with Macau – with Zhu taking a 4-2 win (7-11, 8-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-9, 11-8)!

The all-China women’s Doubles final had Yidi Wang and Man Kuai overcoming Yingsha Sun and Manyu Wang in a struggle, 14-16, 11-5, 11-6, 8-11, 11-9. In the Mixed Doubles final, China’s Shidong Lin and Kuai won in straight sets in a highly competitive match with Koreans Jonghoon Lim and Yubin Shin, winning 13-11, 16-14, 11-6.

The men’s Doubles was a confident win for Korea’s Jae-hyun An and J-H Lim, 4-11, 11-3, 11-5, 11-6, against French brothers Alexis LeBrun and Felix LeBrun.

● Triathlon ● France celebrated a women’s 1-2 at the World Triathlon Championship Series in Hamburg (GER), with 2024 European silver winner Leonie Perault overcame Olympic champ and countrywoman Cassandra Beaugrand on the 5 km, to win in 56:25 to 56:29. Beaugrand had the lead on the run, but Perault had the fastest run by nine seconds and erased a five-second deficit. Britain’s 2023 World Champion, Beth Potter, finished third in 56:32, with Taylor Spivey the top U.S. finisher in 10th (56:59).

Australia’s Matthew Hauser, the defending champion, got his fourth career WTCS gold, had the fastest 5 km time by seven seconds – surging in the final 800 m – and won the Sprint format race by seven seconds – 50:07 to 50:14 – over Portugal’s 2020 Worlds runner-up Vasco Vilaca. Italy’s Alessio Crociani was third (50:36); John Reed was the top American, in 14th (51:29).

● Volleyball ● Bulgaria its first-ever FIVB women’s World U-19 Championship, beating the defending champion U.S. for the second time in the tournament, 21-25, 25-16, 25-17, 29-27, in Osijek (CRO), after reaching the medal round for the first time ever.

It was the fourth straight medal for the Americans, who won in 2019 and 2023, and finished third in 2021. Poland slammed Turkey, 3-0, for the bronze.

● Water Polo ● Group play has started in the World Aquatics Championships tournaments in Singapore, with the U.S. men winning their opener, 18-9, over Canada in Group C. Brazil is next on Monday and then host Singapore on Wednesday (16th).

The American women are in Group B and have registered wins over China (15-7) and the Netherlands (11-9), with Emily Ausmus scored three goals in each. The last U.S. group match will be Tuesday (15th) against 0-2 Argentina.

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FOOTBALL: After a hot Club World Cup, Infantino looks to domed stadiums for daytime matches at 2026 FIFA World Cup (full analysis)

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ FIFA WORLD CUP 2026 ≡

The FIFA Club World Cup that concludes Sunday has made at least one direct impact on the 2026 FIFA World Cup, to be played in Canada, Mexico City and the U.S.: beware of heat.

High summer temperatures in the U.S. caused more than a dozen games to be played in sweltering heat and/or humidity, and FIFA President Gianni Infantino (SUI) – while calling the tournament a great success – added during a Saturday appearance in New York:

“We have seen how America has embraced all different communities from the entire world.

“Of course, the heat is definitely an issue, it’ an issue all over the world. I remember last year we were in Olympic Games in Paris; the games – the football games, even other sports, but speaking about football – so the games being played during the day were played in very hot conditions.

“We need to look at what we can do better. We introduced cooling breaks; it’s obviously very important. We watered the pitch; we can see how we can do things better.

“In America, as well as in Canada for next year – in Vancouver – we have stadiums as well which are covered , so we’ll definitely use these stadiums more in the day. But, of course, these are questions that we have to study.”

Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez (ARG) played in Tuesday’s semifinal against Brazilian club Fluminense in MetLife Stadium in New Jersey in 96 F temps at kickoff at 3 p.m. Eastern time, and reflected days later:

“The other day I got a bit dizzy during a play. I had to lie down on the ground because I was really dizzy. Playing in this temperature is very dangerous, it’s very dangerous … The game, the speed of the game is not the same, everything becomes very slow.”

So, how is that going to work for 2026? Well, there are 16 venues for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with 11 in the U.S., three in Mexico and two in Canada. Out of these, there are four domed stadiums and one roofed facility, at which 39 of the 104 matches of the tournament will be played:

Fully enclosed:
● Arlington (9 matches): AT&T Stadium (Groups F, J, L)
● Atlanta (8): Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Groups A, C, H, K)
● Houston (7): NRG Stadium (Groups E, F, H, K)
● Vancouver (7): BC Place Stadium (Groups B, D, G)

Roofed, not fully enclosed:
● Inglewood (8): SoFi Stadium (Groups B, D, G)

In the group stage of 72 matches, 25 will be played at one of these five facilities; at least one match in 11 of the 12 groups will be played there (none in Group I). Of the 32 playoff matches, 14 will be played at one of the five. One of the quarterfinals will be in Inglewood, the semis will be in Arlington and Atlanta; the final will be played in open-air Metlife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, also the site of the Club World Cup final.

Observed: FIFA will want to schedule 2026 World Cup matches, if possible, at times when the playing teams – especially in Europe – will be in favorable time slots for their home markets (and broadcasters). That’s going to be harder now if daytime matches are going to be avoided, given the time differences with the U.S.

Chelsea’s 3 p.m. Eastern match in the final on Sunday airs at 8 p.m. in London and 9 p.m. in continental Europe. Waiting for the sun to go down in open-air stadium moved the games deep into the night in Europe.

So, look for some possible changes in stadium match assignments – which have already been made – to better spread roofed stadiums among the groups. The final draw for the World Cup will be in December.

FIFA held discussions on Saturday with representatives of several player unions (apparently not including the 66,000-member global union FIFPRO), with an agreement on changes to the International Match Calendar (IMC) and player rest:

“There is a consensus that there must be at least 72 hours of rest between matches, and that players should have a rest period / holiday of at least 21 days at the end of each season. This period should be managed individually by each club and the respective players also depending on their match calendars and taking into account applicable collective agreements.

“Furthermore, a rest day per week should also be planned, whilst being managed pragmatically. In addition, it was discussed that player travel – especially long-haul intercontinental trips – and the climatic conditions under which matches are played, should be considered when defining policies for the upcoming IMC.”

The Club World Cup has created significant unrest among player organizations and with some European leagues over its place in the calendar and the size (32 teams) and length of the tournament, over an entire month. The tournament is supposed to be organized again in 2029.

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ATHLETICS: Sensational 44.10 world U-18 400 m record for Quincy Wilson, world-leading 19.83 for T’Mars McCallum at Ed Murphey!

By
Rich Perelman
-
Quincy Wilson finishing his sensational 44.10 men’s 400 m at the 2025 Ed Murphey Classic (Photo: AthleticLive).

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≡ ED MURPHEY CLASSIC ≡

Normally, a fun, relaxed, mid-summer meet in Memphis, Tennessee, the placement of the World Athletics Championships in September this year and the associated, ultra-late USA Track & Field Championships starting on 31 July made Saturday’s annual Ed Murphey Classic a critical final tune-up for dozens of U.S. and international stars.

And amid hot afternoon temperatures and a cooler evening, they did some startling things:

● Paris relay Olympian Quincy Wilson, still just 17, had managed a best of 45.27 this season, coming off his 2024 explosion, with a world U-18 record of 44.20. But he started on fire in Memphis, making up the stagger on Tokyo Olympic champ Steven Gardiner (BAH), then moving confidently through the turn and pulling away from 2023 national champ Bryce Deadmon to win in 44.10!

That’s equal-fourth in the world for 2025, and came exactly 51 weeks since his 44.20 in 2024. It’s another world U-18 mark for Wilson and the no. 2 time in world junior (U-20) history. He’s right on schedule! Deadmon was second in 44.39; Gardiner did not finish.

● Tennessee’s T’Mars McCallum, no. 2 on the world list coming in, but who finished fifth at the NCAA 200 m, blasted the turn and won the afternoon race in 19.73 (+1.8 m/s), to re-take the world lead in the event!

He also won the earlier men’s 100 m in 9.87w, with a barely-over-the-allowable wind of +2.1 m/s. Fellow Vol Davonte Howell (CAY) was second at 9.93w, then came back to win the evening 100 m in 10.07.

● Two men’s 110 m hurdles races were run, with Eric Edwards winning the afternoon race in 13.20 (+1.9) over Ja’Qualon Scott (13.37), then Scott winning in the evening at 13.12w (+3.3), with Jamal Britt (13.16w) second and Scott third at 13.34w.

● McKenzie Long, the former Mississippi star, showed she is back with an afternoon win in the women’s 100 m in 10.88w (+3.7), the zooming to no. 2 in the world for 2025 with a 200 m win in the evening in 21.93 (+1.2), ahead of Nigeria’s Favour Ofili (22.00) and Olympic bronzer Brittany Brown (22.17).

● Shafiqua Maloney (VIN), the Olympic women’s 800 m fourth-placer, took the 800 m here, wire to wire, in 1:58.13, ahead of former American Record holder Ajee Wilson (1:59.53). Tokyo Olympic champ Athing Mu-Nikolayev was with the leaders into the final straight, but faded to fifth in 2:00.42.

● The women’s 110 m hurdles races were both sizzling, with Alaysha Johnson steaming to a 12.32 (+1.9) winner in the afternoon, then blasting to a 12.27w victory in the evening, but with +2.1 m/s wind.

Superstar Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone was scheduled to run the women’s 400 m, but pulled with due to illness. Recovering Britton Wilson won in 50.54, her best since 2023.

On the infield:

● Paris Olympian and U.S. indoor champ Russell Robinson was just behind his seasonal best to win the men’s triple jump at 17.29 m (56-8 3/4), which would be good for no. 3 in 2025, if not for his earlier 17.30 m (56-9 1/4).

● Tripp Piperi came from behind in the sixth round to win the men’s shot at 21.88 m (71-9 1/2) overtaking Chuk Enekwechi (NGR: 21.67 m/71-1 1/4) and Roger Steen (21.66 m/71-0 3/4).

● Cuba’s Davisleidis Valazco won the women’s triple jump at 14.61 m (47-11 1/4) to move to no. 3 in the world for 2025.

This was some meet, with the winners getting to pop open a bottle of champagne on the infield … except for the 17-year old Wilson (his coach opened the bubbly)!

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LOS ANGELES 2028: LA28 CEO Hoover’s report to new State Senate Committee highlights LA28’s preparations right now: “significant progress”

By
Rich Perelman
-
LA28 organizing committee chief executive Reynold Hoover (Cal State Senate committee video screen shot).

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≡ THREE YEARS TO GO ≡

The Games of the XXXIV Olympiad are scheduled to open on 14 July 2028, three years from now and the wheels of government are starting to turn, with more attention being paid to the event.

On 4 July, U.S. President Donald Trump signed H.R. 1, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which allocated $1.0 billion to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for use in security, planning and other costs related to the 2028 Olympic Games.

Last Thursday (10th), the new California Senate Special Committee on International Sporting Events: Olympics, Paralympics and World Cup Soccer, held its first hearing, on “California Goes for the Gold: Overview of the Challenges and Opportunities of the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games.”

The nearly-three-hour session, chaired by Sen. Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica), included four panelists, with a focus on what government is doing about the 2028 Games, as well as the LA28 organizing committee:

● City of Los Angeles: Paul Krekorian, Executive Director, Office of Major Events
● County of Los Angeles: Fesia Davenport, Chief Executive Officer
● Visit California: Ryan Becker, Senior Vice President of Communications & Strategy
● LA28: Reynold Hoover, Chief Executive Officer

Hoover, in his now-familiar, affable, low-key style, explained where he sees the organization of the event as this point after a year on the job. He gave a very thorough primer on the Games and the effort so far, starting with:

“As I look backwards over the last year, I can say without a doubt that your organizing committee in L.A. is strong and getting stronger every day … We’ve made significant progress.”

As the committee was brand new to the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Hoover emphasized the basics:

● “Let me just start out by saying the organizing committee is a nonprofit organization. We get no money from the Federal government. We ask no money from the State, and we don’t get local funding; all of our revenue and all of our operating costs – we have a $7.1 billion budget – comes from sponsorship, comes from [International Olympic Committee] flow-through money – money that comes from broadcasting – comes from licensing sales, merchandising sales and ticket sales.

“So when we talk about funding and things like that, it is not money that comes to us. So money that the State brings to the table or money that the Federal government [brings] to the table, does not come to us. It is for State and local and our partners who are actually part of the delivery, whether it’s at the County or at the State or at the City level.”

● “Part of my kind of my plebe [first] year, if you will, has been to go out and rebuild relationships in the community and to be and to be as transparent as I can. …

“We’ve met with the unions to talk about training opportunities and how we can train the workforce to prepare. we continue to work with the City and the County over procurement to how we make sure that we bring economic opportunities to small businesses, to micro businesses, so that the entire community lifts up. …

“It is my goal that people will look at LA28 as more than just an organizing committee, but as a civic organization that is really a part of the community that is trying to uplift our community as a whole, to uplift the state of California and the nation.”

● “We actually say it’s seven Super Bowls a day, simultaneously for 30 days, which is just unprecedented. This will be the largest Olympics ever and also the largest Paralympics ever, and the first time we’ve had Paralympics in Los Angeles.”

● “I mentioned our $7.1 billion budget that we are raising; we are well on our way. We just announced yesterday our eighth sponsorship, with Uber, who will be our our rideshare partner and our on-demand delivery partner as well.

“And the eight sponsors that we’ve announced this year outpaces all of what we did last year. We are well on track to hit our [target] numbers at $2 billion by the end of the year, just in sponsorship alone, so we feel very good about where we are on the revenue side of the business.

“In terms of ticket sales, we have about four seasons of Dodger Stadium to sell in terms of tickets, so it’s about maybe 13 million tickets to sell. and we will go out to public sale next summer.”

● “We will do a 50-state torch relay. It’s never been done before, and we believe that that torch relay is the thread that’s going to bind the nation to L.A. and California. And it’s a way that we are going to unify the world. And the world will see that we are L.A. strong and California is strong.”

Hoover also mentioned the 2017 economic impact study which projected an $18 billion total economic impact, $6 billion in labor income, $1.6 billion in Federal tax revenue and $700 million in state and local tax revenues. This is being updated now.

Hoover also shared a personal insight about taking his position, coming out of retirement after rising to the rank of Lt. General in the U.S. Army:

“There is no better way to capstone nearly 40 years in uniform than to come back and unite the world around sport at a time when we need it the most, and not only unite the world, but unite the nation around sport.

“There is nothing like it when you watch those Olympic and Paralympic athletes on the field of play, it gets in your heart. It really does. and we are so excited to bring that to California and to Los Angeles. there is no other place in the world that can host the Games of this size and this magnitude.”

He also talked for the first time publicly – in some detail – about government funding, which has been a sizable issue, not only about security, but also transportation and local readiness:

“There are four really lines of effort at the Federal level that we’re working with very closely with the Administration. On the security funding side, again, we don’t get any of that money. That all goes to state and local first responders.

“We continue to advocate with the Administration as well as on the Hill for 100% reimbursement to our state and local partners who are providing security services for the Games. We’re very pleased that in the President’s bill that $1 billion was allocated this year, in this most recent bill to help us with that initial funding requirements for security.

“On the transportation side, we work very closely with Caltrans, as well as L.A. Metro on our transportation requirements to support the Games. and we believe that transportation funding from the Federal government will be forthcoming at some point in time. But we continue to advocate for that.

“Visas and consular affairs and consular operations is top of mind for all of us. We’re very pleased that the Administration, even though they’ve put a travel ban out, that they have carved out specific exemptions for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and we have a very good relationship with the Department of State, and both between us and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, we’re working very closely to make sure that all of the athletes and all of the people that are supporting the Games and people that want to come and visit and visit L.A. and visit the region will have the opportunity to do that.

“And then finally, with telecommunications, we work closely with the [Federal Communications Commission] both on cyber but as well on spectrum management. So we’ll actually end up pulling about 250,000 miles of cable to put in our own network, that we will leave behind. And we’re asking the Federal government for some assistance, because that is a legacy project. at the State level.”

One of the themes of the session from the committee members was how people can get involved in the Games in their own communities, whether close to the venues, or far away. Hoover spoke about this also:

“The first is there are a number of opportunities for fan fests, and those are opportunities to have big screen TVs and all kinds of other things that gets the community engaged around the Olympics. And we can certainly provide additional help in trying to plan those and get those together.

“Our volunteer program. You know, when you went to Paris, the volunteers to me were the ones that made – besides the athletes and Paralympic athletes – the volunteers were the ones that made it. They were the first people you saw at the airport. They were on every street corner. They were at every metro stop. They were at every venue. …

“They were always happy. They came from all over the world. If they didn’t know the answer to a question, they would take you to the person that did. They needed 43,000 volunteers, and in Paris, they had over 300,000 applicants for volunteers from across the world. That spirit of volunteerism is just an amazing, powerful, uniting event, and we want to bring that to L.A.

“And so we are actually starting our volunteer program early. We will kick that off this summer, about 18 months ahead of schedule from what the IOC would be asking for, because we want that spirit of volunteerism and we believe that we can take that base of volunteers and turn that into a viable workforce, that we can then turn back to the community for, again, a lasting legacy economic benefit.

“And we’re really excited about that. The education program is training that we’ve been talking to some of the unions about, about how we can provide training opportunities today so that our volunteers and our workforce.

“By the way, we’ll probably need somewhere between 45,000 to 50,000 volunteers. Our own headquarters will grow to about 4,000, a little over 4,000 full-time employees, that those people will have skills and jobs that we can transfer to the communities.

“And so we’re working on ways to be able to do that. and then finally, I mentioned the torch relays. And I think that’s another opportunity in addition to just the 50-state Olympic torch relay, there will be a subset relay that we will also do for the Paralympic Games as well. And so there are tremendous opportunities across the board for your communities to get engaged.”

He said that the torch relay would likely start in April 2028 and run about 100 days, with a 14-day Paralympic relay.

Krekorian explained the role of the City of Los Angeles Major Events office, which has been quiet during the City’s tumultuous budget debate:

“Our function with regard to the Games is to coordinate all City efforts relating to preparation. We’re kind of the hub of the wheel. We have many departments, virtually all of the City departments who are doing work relating to the Games. so we’re the place where that all comes together and is coordinated, and it’s my job to make sure that it’s happening on schedule and effectively. Our goal, of course, is to make sure that we have the most successful Olympic and Paralympic Games that we possibly can have, but it’s also our responsibility to ensure fiscal oversight, both over the City’s own expenditures as well as the expenditures of the organizing committee.”

And he noted that L.A. will have its own volunteer program:

“[T]he city will probably need its own volunteer force of 15 to 20,000 people, Paris had 13,000. Their Metro system had another volunteer program. So when you take all that together and you have 75,000 people who raise their hands and say, ‘I want to do something good for my community.’”

Davenport spoke to L.A. County’s role in supporting the Games venues in its jurisdiction, and a critical role in support services, including security and public health. She also noted planning on use of 188 parks within the County, for fan festivals and in-community programming.

Becker talked at length about the tourism opportunities and challenges, and while not a sponsor of the organizing committee – he mentioned “$50 million” as the price – planning is ongoing with the FIFA World Cup coming in 2026 and the Games in 2028 for promotions – ads, influencers and other campaigns – for visitors to extend their stays beyond coming just to the events.

There were the inevitable questions about how LA28 was going to get free tickets into the hands of area resident so they everyone could experience the Games. Hoover noted that discussions have started on philanthropic efforts to create these kinds of possibilities. In Paris in 2024, the City of Paris itself bought tickets from the organizing committee for this purpose; that’s currently out of the question for the City of Los Angeles, County of Los Angeles and the State of California in the face of deep budget challenges.

Observed: This Senate committee has a long learning curve ahead of it, showcasing little knowledge of Los Angeles’ Olympic history, or who plays exactly what role. Look for more hearings in the future.

Hoover is emerging as an articulate, engaging spokesman for the organizing committee, but the comments of Senators indicated the enormity of another problem that LA28 – and the City and County of Los Angeles – are facing and will continue to face: meaningfully informing elected officials and staffs in the State Assembly, State Senate, state agencies, the 88 cities – mayors, city councils and staffs – inside Los Angeles County, and those in surrounding countries such as Ventura, Orange, San Diego, San Bernardino and Riverside.

A lack of information is bad enough, but mis-information and dis-information can create serious problems, and if they take hold, can be difficult to dislodge before the Games (or ever). A glaring past example was furnished during the hearing.

Sen. Susan Rubio (D-Los Angeles) said she watched “rocketman” Bill Suitor fly into the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum at age 13 from her childhood home near L.A.’s Belmont High School during the opening ceremonies of the 1984 Olympic Games, but said she had no way to get into any of the Games events that followed. That was her only Olympic moment. 

In fact, Rubio and members of her family could have attended any of the seven morning sessions of track & field at the nearby Coliseum during the Games … for $8 a ticket; there were at least 10,000 unsold tickets for every one of those sessions. But she, or her parents, either didn’t know, didn’t want to know, didn’t care to find out … or her parents didn’t want to go.

LA28 will have a significant challenge to penetrate Southern California households at a level deep enough to ensure that people know how they can attend the Games, get involved … or stay away from the Games if they want to. To succeed, that effort will have to start soon.

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ATHLETICS: Lyles edges Tebogo in 19.88 in Herculis Monaco men’s 200 m, fab Wanyonyi 800 m win among world leads in five events

By
Rich Perelman
-
Dutch superstar Femke Bol (Photo: Diamond League AG).

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≡ HERCULIS MONACO ≡

The Diamond League annual stop for the Herculis Monaco meet had a full house of about 16,000 at the Stade Louis II, with world-leading (outdoor) performances in

● Men/800 m: 1:41.44, Emmanuel Wanyonyi (KEN)
● Men/High Jump: 2.34 m (7-8), Sang-hyeok Woo (KOR)
● Men/Triple Jump: 17.52 m (57-5 3/4), Jordan Scott (JAM)
● Women/1,000 m: 2:29.77, Nelly Chepchirchir (KEN)
● Women/400 m hurdles: 51.95, Femke Bol (NED)

All eyes were on the men’s 200 m with Olympic champ Letsile Tebogo (BOT) in lane six and the late-entering World Champion Noah Lyles of the U.S., opening his 200 m season in lane seven. Off the start, the two were even, and Lyles held the advantage into the straight. Tebogo came on and was even, maybe even just ahead, but Lyles powered to the line and was the clear winner in 19.88 (wind: -0.8 m/s) to 19.97 for Tebogo and 19.99 for Auburn’s NCAA runner-up Maka Charamba (ZIM).

Plenty of smiles from Lyles, but no big celebration; he looked strong and had a clear race plan that he executed well when Tebogo came up. Impressive. He said afterwards:

“The audience was amazing and showed a lot of love. That is always helpful for your first race. I put myself in the fire for that one coming back against Tebogo. I didn´t feel any pressure, I don´t see any reason to put pressure on myself, that´s what we love to do. I pray for times like this to be out here and do what I love. I come out here and I give my best.”

The much-anticipated men’s 800 m had the entire Paris final on the line, and Kenya’s Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi stuck close to the lead and took over past the bell, reached in 49.21, on world-record pace. Wanyonyi and Algerian Slimane Moula were 1-2 on the backstraight, but World Indoor winner Josh Hoey of the U.S. moved up hard into the turn and took second. Into the straight, it was Wanyonyi completely in charge and while Hoey gave chase, the Kenyan crossed with a world-leading 1:41.44, the no. 10 performance of all-time.

Hoey was a clear second in a lifetime best of 1:42.01, now no. 2 all-time U.S. with the no. 2 performance (and no. 11 all-time world)! Algerian Djamel Sedjati got third (1:42.20) with Australia Peter Bol scoring a national record of 1:42.55 in fourth. American Record holder Bryce Hoppel was seventh in 1:43.51.

Four were in the men’s high jump at 2:30 m (7-6 1/2), with World Indoor winner Sang-hyeok Woo (KOR) over on his first try, and European silver winner Jan Stefela (CZE) on his second. JuVaughn Harrison of the U.S., the 2023 Worlds silver medalist, missed all three and finished third, with Jonathan Kapitolnik (ISR) fourth; they both cleared 2.27 m (7-5 1/4).

Then, Stefela made 2.32 m (7-7 1/4) as Woo passed. Woo made 2.34 m (7-8) on his first and Stefela missed. So, Stefela went to 2.36 m and missed twice and was second. Woo tried twice at 2.37 m (7-9 1/4), but missed twice, but grabbed the world outdoor lead!

Jamaica’s Paris Olympian Jordan Scott was only third through four rounds of the triple jump, then exploded in round five at 17.44 m (57-2 3/4), a lifetime best and an outdoor world leader! That surpassed Algeria’s 2024 World Indoor runner-up Yassir Triki (17.21 m/56-5 3/4) and World Indoor champ Andy Diaz (ITA: 17.15 m/56-3 1/4).

But Scott wasn’t done, blasting out to 17.52 m (57-5 3/4) in the final round to get a lifetime best! Triki also improved in the final round to 17.23 m (56-6 1/2), as did Diaz, to 17.19 m (56-4 3/4), but still in third.

The women’s 1,000 m had lots of talent, including 800 m World Champion Mary Moraa (KEN) and Paris 1,500 m silver winner Jess Hull (AUS), and Hull took the bell, ahead of Britain’s Jemma Reekie. But the big move came from 2024 Olympian Nelly Chepchirchir (KEN), taking over on the backstraight and into the final turn.

Hull kept close, but Chepchirchir raced away and won in 2:29.77, moving to no. 4 on the all-time list (and the fourth under 2:30). American Addy Wiley charged down the straight and finally passed Hull for second and got an American Record in 2:30.71 (no. 8 all-time), followed by Hull (2:30.96) and then Sinclaire Johnson of the U.S. in fourth (2:31.30). Reekie was fifth in 2:31.44.

Dutch star Femke Bol trailed Rio 2016 champ Dalilah Muhammad of the U.S. through seven hurdles, but took the lead on the eighth and stormed home in a world-leading 51.95. Muhammad remained no.4 in 2025 with a seasonal best of 52.58 and fellow American (and Paris silver winner) Anna Cockrell was a clear third in 52.91, now no. 5 in 2025.

Everyone was on world-record watch in the men’s vault, of course. Five were jumping in the men’s vault at 5.92 m (19-5), with Swedish superstar Mondo Duplantis, Greece’s Olympic bronzer Emmanouil Karalis and Australia’s Kurtis Marschall over, London 2012 Olympic winner Renaud Lavillenie (FRA) out and two-time Worlds winner Sam Kendricks of the U.S. missing twice and passing to the next height.

At 6.00 m (19-8 1/4), Kendricks missed and was out, Marshall missed all three and Duplantis cleared on his first try. Duplantis cleared 6.05 m (19-10 1/4), then Karalis missed once, and twice at 6.10 m (20-0) and was out. So, the Swede headed for world-record tries at 6.29 m (20-7 1/2), but missed three times.

The U.S. claimed one more win in the men’s 110 m hurdles. Cordell Tinch of the U.S. came in as the only sub-13 performer this season, but 2022 Worlds silver medalist Trey Cunningham had the lead by the second hurdle. Tinch moved up, fellow American Dylan Beard moved up, but Cunningham held on and got to the line first in 13.09 (-0.9). Tinch was a tight second in 13.14, then NCAA champ Ja’Kobe Tharp (13.17), as Beard faded to fifth in the run-in, also in 13.17!

There was a lot more action, including a couple of world-record tries:

The line-up showed a possible challenge to two-time Olympic champion Soufiane El-Bakkali (MAR), but he was out to make a world-record challenge and had more than 40 m on the field with two laps left. But El-Bakkali slowed, and Japan’s Ryuji Miura moved up hard on the final lap, and actually got the lead after the final barrier! But El-Bakkali sprinted back into the lead and won, 8:03.18 to 8:03.43, a national record for Miura. Edmund Serem (KEN) got third in a lifetime best of 8:04.00; Americans Matthew Wilkinson (8:10.23 lifetime best), James Corrigan (8:14.76) and Kenneth Rooks (8:28.23) finished 9-11-15.

Four men broke away at the 2,800 m mark in the men’s 5,000 m, with two-time World Indoor 3,000 m winner Yomif Kejelcha (ETH) leading world leader Andreas Almgren (SWE). Kejelcha pushed and crossed 3,000 m in 7:39.47, with Almgren stepping off the track. With four laps to go, Kejelcha’s lead expanded, with countryman (and 2016 Olympic bronzer) Hagos Gebrhiwet and Birhanu Balew (BRN) 50 m behind!

The lead was 80 m and growing with two laps to go, and Kejelcha took the bell all alone and finished in 12:49.46. The chasers were caught and it was France’s Jimmy Gressier who got second in 12:53.36, with Balew third in 12:53.51 and Mohamed Abdilaahi (GER) got a national record of 12:53.63 in fourth.

Australian teen sensation Gout Gout won the U-23 men’s 200 m in 20.10 into a 1.9 m/s headwind, ahead of Botswana’s Busang Kebinatshipi (20.28).

Olympic women’s 100 m champ Julien Alfred (LCA) had to work hard out of the blocks, just behind American Jacious Sears, but she zoomed to the lead by 40 m and won going away in 10.79 (-1.4), with Sears second in 11.02. Zoe Hobbs (AUS) was third in 11.02, then American Aleia Hobbs in 11.14. Maia McCoy of the U.S. was seventh in 11.19.

NCAA women’s 400 m champ Aaliyah Butler looked ready to upset Paris Olympic champion Marileidy Paulino (DOM), running up on her in the first 200 m and leading off the turn. But Paulino kept coming and got to the lead in the final stride, crossing in 49.06, with Butler getting a lifetime best of 49.09 (no. 3 in 2025 and no. 5 all-time U.S.), followed by Jamaican champ Nickisha Pryce, with a seasonal best of 49.63.

Devynne Charlton (BAH) and Grace Stark (USA) had the early lead in the women’s 100 m hurdles, but Stark hit a hurdle, and Jamaica’s Tokyo Olympic bronzer Megan Tapper took over and won easily in 12.34 (-1.1), equaling her lifetime best! Swiss Dita Kambundji came up for second in 12.43, with Americans Masai Russell (12.57), Stark (12.64) and Alia Armstrong (12.68) finishing 4-5-6.

In the women’s shot, Canada’s Sarah Mitton took the lead in round two at 20.00 m (65-7 1/2), but was passed by world leader Chase Jackson of the U.S. at 20.06 m (65-9 3/4) in round five. But it was two-time European champ Jessica Schilder who came up aces in the sixth, exploding to 20.39 m (66-10 3/4) to steal the victory!

Maggie Ewen of the U.S. was sixth (18.98 m/62-3 1/4) and Jaida Ross was seventh (18.83 m/61-9 1/2).

The Diamond League continues in London (GBR) on the 19th, then takes a month off.

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PANORAMA: France still in love with Olympics; World Aquatics Champs starting in Singapore; McLaughlin-Levrone in Memphis on Saturday

By
Rich Perelman
-
The Olympic Rings on the Eiffel Tower (Photo: Ibex73 via Wikipedia)

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Games 2024: Paris ● Affection for the Paris 2024 Games remains strong in France, as 83% (vs. 15%) responded positively to a new poll about their perception of last year’s events. Moreover, 76% (vs. 23%) had a positive view of the upcoming Olympic Winter Games, French Alps 2030.

The poll of 1,047 adults from 13-16 June by Toluna Harris Interactive France and Territoires d’Événements Sportifs (TES), also showed 86% (vs. 13%) in favor of major events being held in France, especially for their impact on tourism and upgrades to sports facilities. Some 72% felt such events also promoted the practice of sport, the image of France and the promotion of Paralympic sport.

Interestingly, 64% said they preferred to watch sports on television vs. attending in person (49%), but a majority (60%) of those under 35 wanted to be on-site in person.

● Aquatics ● The World Aquatics Championships, with 77 events, about 2,500 athletes from 206 national federations, opens on Friday in Singapore and will continue through 3 August.

Water polo will open the championships, continuing to 24 July. Open-water swimming will go from 14-29 July, artistic swimming from 17-25 July, high diving from 23-27 July, then diving from 25 July to 3 August and swimming from 26 July to 3 August.

● Athletics ● Interesting line-up for the annual Ed Murphey Classic in Memphis, Tennessee on Saturday, including Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone in the flat 400 m. She’s already no. 5 in the world in 2025 off her 49.43 at the Prefontaine Classic, and she is always a threat to the American Record of 48.70 by Sanya Richards-Ross from 2006.

In the men’s 400 m, teen star Quincy Wilson (17) has completed his high school season and will be in the open race; he’s run 45.27 this season after a world U-18 record 44.20 last year. He’ll be facing Tokyo Olympic 400 m winner Steven Gardiner (BAH), among others.

● Cricket ● The Times of India reported on a demand by the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee that the Board members of USA Cricket resign so that “new independent members can be appointed to replace them.”

USOPC Senior Governance Advisor David Patterson insisted that a full replacement of the board is “by far the best course of action.” His electronic-mail message explained that if this does not take place, the USOPC will not open an application period for an organization to apply to be the recognized National Governing Body for cricket (there is none at present).

The Times report also stated that the International Cricket Council, the international federation for cricket, is in agreement with the USOPC, as USA Cricket has been under scrutiny for governance issues since 2018.

● Cycling ● Ireland’s Ben Healy broke away from a lead group with 42 km remaining in Thursday’s hilly, 201.5 km ride to Vire Normandie and won the sixth stage of the 112th Tour de France in 4:24:10. It’s his first career stage win at the Tour.

He was all alone at the finish, with American Quinn Simmons some 2:44 behind in second, followed by Michael Storer (AUS: +2:51).

Well back was the race-leader group, with Dutch star Mathieu van der Poel finishing eighth (+3:58) and then race leader Tadej Pogacar (SLO) much further back at +5:27. That differential gave the race lead to van der Poel by one second, with Remco Evenepoel (BEL: +0:43) third and four more within 1:59.

Friday’s 197 km stage to Mur-de-Bretagne is again hilly, with an uphill finish that could shake up the leaderboard once again.

The women’s Giro d’Italia enjoyed a flat, 120 km stage on Thursday from Mirano to Monselice, won by Dutch ace Lorena Wiebes in 2:39:08 ahead of countrywoman Marianne Vos and 10 others given the same time.

Swiss Marlen Reusser was fifth and maintained her 16-second lead over Italy’s Elisa Longo Borghini. Stage six on Friday will be hilly and stage seven has a major uphill finish that will likely decide the race.

● Football ● Paris-St. Germain is a big favorite to defeat Chelsea in the final of the FIFA Club World Cup on Sunday at 3 p.m. local time at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

PSG is listed at 3/5 on multiple sites and the best odds on Chelsea are just less than 4/1.

Perhaps just as important is the weather, with a high of 85 F forecast and 71% humidity. That’s down from the 90+ F temps during the semifinals – also at MetLife – but still uncomfortable.

U.S. striker Tobin Heath, a key contributor to the dominant U.S. women’s teams over almost 15 years, announced her retirement from professional football on Thursday. She last played in 2022 and has been unable to overcome a serious knee injury since.

She joined the U.S. national team in 2008 and was a part of the Women’s World Cup champions in 2015 and 2019 and Olympic winners in 2008 and 2012, and bronze medalists at Tokyo 2020. She scored 36 goals and had 42 assists in 181 appearances. She played with 11 different club teams in the U.S. and England from 2004-22.

● Modern Pentathlon ● At the UIPM World Relay Championships in Alexandria (EGY), the home team won the senior Mixed Relay, thanks to teen star Farida Khalil and Paris Olympian Mohanad Shaban, who won the fencing, swimming and obstacle legs and then hung on during the Laser Run to edge France’s Mathilde Derval and Leo Bories, with a final score of 1,422 to 1,415.

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ATHLETICS: Lyles suddenly enters Monaco Diamond League, will face Paris 200 m champ Tebogo, on Friday

By
Rich Perelman
-
Olympic and World Champion sprinter Noah Lyles of the U.S. (Photo: Diamond League AG).

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≡ HERCULIS MONACO ≡

In what has already been an exciting 2025 track & field season, triple 2023 World Champion and Paris 2024 100 m gold medalist Noah Lyles has been largely missing.

He ran a couple of indoor 60 m races in late January and early February, and got a 400 m lifetime best of 45.87 in Florida on 19 April. Since then, nothing. Until tomorrow.

Lyles had long indicated he would run the 100 m at the Diamond League meet in London (GBR) on 19 July, but has suddenly jumped into the 200 m at the Herculis Diamond League in Monaco tomorrow (11th). He’s no stranger there, having won the 200 m twice with a second in the 100:

● 2018: 200 m 1st in 19.65
● 2019: 100 m 2nd in 9.92
● 2022: 200 m 1st in 19.46

Next level: consider that Lyles has only opened his 200 m season outside of the U.S. twice, with Diamond League meets in 2018 in Doha (19.83: 1st) and Rome in 2019 (19.72: 2nd)!

Botswana’s supremely confident Letsile Tebogo, the Paris 200 m gold medalist at 19.46, is the world leader in the 200 m this year after his sizzling 19.76 win at the Prefontaine Classic last Saturday and has won seven of his last eight 200 m finals. The lane draw has Tebogo in lane six and Lyles in his favored lane seven.

That’s going to be the headline race tomorrow, but there is a lot more:

● Men/800 m: Was the race of the meet until Lyles popped up, with Olympic champ Emmanuel Wanyonyi (KEN: 1:41.95 this year), Paris silver man Marco Arop (CAN), bronzer Djamel Sedjati (ALG), American record holder Bryce Hoppel, World Indoor winner Josh Hoey and more. Wow!

● Men/Steeple: The Paris podium of Soufiane El Bakkali (MAR), Kenneth Rooks of the U.S. and Abraham Kibiwot (KEN) is all in, plus Ethiopian stars Getnet Wale and Samuel Firewu.

● Men/5,000 m: Two-time World Indoor champ Yomif Kejelcha (12.47.84 this year) should be ready for another insanely-fast time, along with 2023 World Champion Hagos Gebrhiwet, world leader Andreas Almgren (SWE: 12:44.27), European champ Dominic Lobalu (SUI) and more.

● Men/110 m hurdles: World leader Cordell Tinch of the U.S. (12.87) plus countrymen Trey Cunningham, the 2022 Worlds runner-up, NCAA champ Ja’Kobe Tharp and world no. 3 Dylan Beard (13.02), plus Swiss record holder Jason Joseph (13.07)!

● Men/High Jump: Paris Olympic re-match with winner Hamish Kerr (NZL) and American Shelby McEwen, 2023 Worlds runner-up JuVaughn Harrison of the U.S., and two-time World Indoor winner Sang-hyeok Woo (KOR).

● Men/Vault: World-record watch with Mondo Duplantis (SWE) chasing 6.29 m (20-7 1/2), against Paris runner-up Sam Kendricks of the U.S. and bronzer Emmanouil Karalis (GRE).

● Women/100 m: Olympic champ Julien Alfred (LCA: 10.75 in 2025) is in, to be chased by Americans Jacious Sears (10.85) and Aleia Hobbs (10.89) and Liberia’s Thelma Davies (10.91).

● Women/400 m: Paris Olympic champ Marileidy Paulino (DOM) will face world no. 4 Aaliyah Butler (49.26) of the U.S. and Jamaican champ Nickisha Pryce (49.97 this year).

● Women/1,000 m: 800 m stars including World Champions Mary Moraa (KEN) and Halimah Nakaayi (UGA) will face Australia’s 1,500 m Olympic silver winner Jess Hull (AUS) and others.

● Women/100 m hurdles: American-record-setter and Paris Olympic champ Masai Russell leads this field (12.17), but Olympic fifth-placer Grace Stark (12.21) is not far behind, not to mention two-time World Indoor winner Devynne Charlton (BAH).

● Women/400 m hurdles: Dutch star Femke Bol, the 2023 World Champion and no. 2 in 2025, against Rio 2026 Olympic winner and world no. 4 Dalilah Muhammad of the U.S., in her final season.

● Women/Shot: World leader at two-time World Champion Chase Jackson of the U.S. lines up against two-time World Indoor winner Sarah Mitton (CAN) and Paris Olympic champ Temisi Ogunleye (GER).

The meet will be shown in the U.S. only on the FloTrack service, free for this meet; next up will be London on the 19th.

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SPORTS LAW: Euro Court of Human Rights grants Semenya a “better” review, but upholds limited review of Court of Arbitration decisions

By
Rich Perelman
-
South Africa's Olympic and World Champion Caster Semenya

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≡ SEMENYA vs. SWITZERLAND ≡

The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights gave a major victory to the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Thursday, with a minor win for South Africa’s two-time women’s 800 m Olympic champion Caster Semenya.

The headlines over Semenya vs. Switzerland were primarily about Semenya, the 2012 and 2016 Olympic women’s 800 m gold medalist, who filed an action against World Athletics (then-IAAF) and its regulations for athletes with “Differences in Sex Development” in 2018 with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Then:

● CAS rejected the case in a lengthy opinion in April 2019, with the outcome summarized as:

“[T]he majority of the Panel accepts that the IAAF has discharged its burden of establishing that regulations governing the ability of female athletes with 46 XY DSD to participate in certain events are necessary to maintain fair competition in female athletics by ensuring that female athletes who do not enjoy the significant performance advantage caused by exposure to levels of circulating testosterone in the adult male range do not have to compete against female athletes who do enjoy that performance advantage.”

● Semenya appealed to the Swiss Federal Tribunal in May 2019, which decided in August 2020 that it “dismissed the appeal, concluding that the impugned award was not incompatible with substantive public policy.”

● Semenya then filed an appeal with the European Court of Human Rights in May 2021, summarized as:

“It would therefore appear that, as formulated in her application, the applicant’s complaint, based without distinction on Article 6 § 1 and Article 13, concerns the alleged insufficiency of the Federal Supreme Court’s review of the CAS award.”

● In July 2023, a deeply-divided ECHR ruling held for Semenya in one area:

“The Court found in particular that the applicant had not been afforded sufficient institutional and procedural safeguards in Switzerland to allow her to have her complaints examined effectively, especially since her complaints concerned substantiated and credible claims of discrimination as a result of her increased testosterone level caused by differences of sex development (DSD).”

● Switzerland appealed in October 2023, asking for a Grand Chamber hearing in front of a panel of 17 judges. A hearing was held on 15 May 2024 and the decision was issued on Thursday.

So, in terms of Semenya’s continuing complaint that the World Athletics rules on limiting testosterone levels of women with biologically high levels are unfair, the Grand Chamber held by 15-2:

“229. It would therefore appear that although the CAS expressed very serious concerns, thereby rendering ambiguous its reasoning in relation to proportionality, the Federal Supreme Court conducted only a limited review of this aspect of the award.

“230. It is thus apparent that the examination of this fundamental and detailed aspect of the applicant’s dispute by the Federal Supreme Court, within its competence to review the compatibility of the award with substantive public policy, was not subjected to the particularly rigorous examination called for by the circumstances of the case. …

“238. In sum, the specific characteristics of the sports arbitration to which the applicant was subject, entailing the mandatory and exclusive jurisdiction of the CAS, required an in-depth judicial review – commensurate with the seriousness of the personal rights at issue – by the only domestic court having jurisdiction to carry out such a task. The review of the applicant’s case by the Federal Supreme Court, not least owing to its very restrictive interpretation of the notion of public policy, which it also applied to the review of arbitral awards by the CAS, did not satisfy the requirement of particular rigour called for in the circumstances of the case. In these circumstances, the Court concludes that the applicant did not benefit from the safeguards provided by Article 6 § 1 of the Convention [for a fair and public hearing].”

So, the Swiss Federal Tribunal is now required to take a “more rigorous look” at the reasonableness of the World Athletics DSD regulations. That is going to be more difficult now:

(1) The World Athletics rules have changed and become even more stringent;

(2) There is new research on the topic, which would impact the finding made by the Court of Arbitration for Sport back in 2019.

But the wheels are in motion, and a new process will be required for the Swiss Federal Tribunal. How it will approach this is anyone’s guess. It is worth noting that the discussion in the CAS decision was on Semenya’s complaint of unfair treatment; an equally-compelling discussion could also be had on the rights of normal-testosterone-level women competing against Semenya and others with differences in sex development.

Semenya’s other complaints on the World Athletics regulations, as torture or degradation, and interfering with her right to a private life, were dismissed. 

Semenya did not ask for damages in the case, but required expenses of €482,514 (~$564,013 U.S.), which was seen as excessive. A grant of €80,000 (~$93,512 U.S.) was made.

While this case was important for Semenya and others in her (DSD) class, it had other very important aspects.

One was that this was NOT a transgender case, for which World Athletics is currently in the process of issuing new regulations with a sex-screening test (a cheek swab) to be mandatory instead of testosterone measurements. The International Olympic Committee is also to be re-engaged on this issue, to “protect the female category.”

Second, this was a critical win for the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and the sports arbitration system, as the Grand Chamber did not touch the very limited grounds for review of CAS decisions by the Swiss Federal Tribunal. From paragraph 130:

“The Court notes that it follows from section 77(1) of the Federal Supreme Court Act and section 190(2) PILA that, in the area of international arbitration, Swiss law provides for a civil-law appeal to the Federal Supreme Court against awards of arbitral tribunals which have their seat in Switzerland.

“Such appeals allow for not only an assessment of whether the awards comply with certain procedural requirements, but also for a substantive review of whether they are compatible with public policy within the meaning of section 190(2)(e) PILA (public policy within the meaning of that provision having both a procedural and a substantive aspect.”

The Grand Chamber respected the Swiss law in regard to the limited jurisdiction of the Swiss Federal Tribunal on CAS appeals, and did not force a revision that would have opened a flood of appeals in normal course from CAS decisions.

Ultimately, that will be one of the key holdings on this case, although in the background of the higher-profile Semenya case, which – after seven years – continues.

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SPORTS LAW: Court of Arbitration for Sport gets only a third of its funding from IOC, but FIFA contributes too; about 13% of cases concern doping

By
Rich Perelman
-
The Court of Arbitration for Sport, in Lausanne, Switzerland.

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≡ COURT OF ARBITRATION FOR SPORT ≡

The International Council of Arbitration for Sport (ICAS) posted their 2024 financial statements, answering the often-asked question about how much of the Court of Arbitration for Sport is paid by the International Olympic Committee.

Total operating revenues were CHF 24.15 million (CHF 1 = $1.26 U.S.):

● 57.1%: CHF 13.78 million paid by the parties
● 32.5% CHF 7.85 million from the IOC
● 10.4% CHF 2.50 million from FIFA
● 0.0%: CHF 0.26 million from other sources

So, the majority of revenues came from filing fees by the parties, and less than a third from the IOC, and a little more than 10% from FIFA.

Why FIFA? In fact, 322 of the 842 ordinary and appeal proceedings at the Court were “employment-related” contractual actions, most of which came from football players or clubs. So, FIFA, as a significant beneficiary of having a single forum in which these disputes can be heard, is a contributor to ICAS.

Costs were primarily arbitration costs (CHF 12.05 million) and personnel (CHF 8.80 million). ICAS had a small operating loss in 2024, but had investment gains and ended the year with a modest surplus. Assets were CHF 61.31 million, with reserves of 9.42 million.

Since 2020, the number of actions at CAS has risen considerably; the record of 609 in 2019 was shattered with 957 in 2020 and 996 in 2021, then less due to the pandemic, and back up to 942 in 2023 and 917 in 2024.

The report’s breakdown of the 917 cases showed:

● 322 on employment-related issues
● 165 on disciplinary issues (81 on doping)
● 155 on contract-related issues
● 49 on eligibility
● 47 on transfer issues
● 45 on governance
● 41 anti-doping procedures
● 40 on training compensation
● 21 Ad Hoc procedures (Olympic Games)
● 19 others
● 13 mediation procedures

Based on the breakdown, it appears that 122 cases (13.3%) were doping-related and more than 458 were related to player-club disputes.

A filer at the Court of Arbitration for Sport has similar costs to filing a lawsuit elsewhere, starting with filing fees for cases of CHF 1,000 and then administrative costs of hearing the case:

● Up to CHF 50,000: CHF 100 to 2,000
● CHF 50,001-100,000: CHF 2,000 + 1.50% above 50,000
● CHF 100,001-500,000: CHF 2,750 + 1.00% above 100,000
● CHF 500,001-1.0 million: CHF 6,750 + 0.60% above 500,000
● CHF 1,000,001-2.5 million: CHF 9,750 + 0.30% above 1,000,000
● CHF 2,500,001-5.0 million: CHF 14,250 + 0.20% above 2,500,000
● CHF 5,000,001-10 million: CHF 19,250 + 0.10% above 5,000,000
● Above CHF 10.0 million: CHF 25,000

In addition, each arbitrator on the cases much be paid, on an hourly basis, which increases based on the value of the case:

● CHF 300 per hour: cases up to CHF 2.5 million
● CHF 350 per hour: cases CHF 2.5+ to 5.0 million
● CHF 400 per hour: cases CHF 5.0+ to 10.0 million
● CHF 450 per hour: cases CHF 10.0+ to 15.0 million
● CHF 500 per hour: cases above CHF 15.0 million

There are also travel and accommodations for arbitrators who have to travel. For the parties, the costs of lawyers to prepare and try the matters is additional, and often not cheap.

While there is significant focus on CAS in the anti-doping sphere, many more of its cases are commercial contract disputes – notably in football – and over significant sums of money. CAS has its detractors, but what it does do well is offer a defined forum for bringing entities into arbitration that may have been difficult to file against anywhere.

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PANORAMA: Uber joins LA28 for rideshares and deliveries; 4,018 doping tests prior to Aquatics Worlds; 90 F temps for Club World Cup semis

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Games 2028: Los Angeles ● The LA28 organizing committee announced an “Official Partner”-level agreement with Uber, to be the “Official Rideshare & On-Demand Delivery Partner” for the organizers and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee.

This is a significant, second-level LA28 sponsorship, below only Founding Partner status. Uber joins AECOM, Cisco, Fanatics, Lilly, Nike and Ralph Lauren at this level. The announcement foresees a critical role for Uber:

“Uber will deploy its advanced mobility solutions to design, implement and optimize rideshare operations across Los Angeles to help stakeholders navigate the city effortlessly. With venues spread across the city and beyond, Uber will lend its expertise to LA28 and its transportation partners providing tech capabilities, operational best practices, and a strategic network of pickup and drop-off locations to support a seamless and multi-modal mobility experience across the greater LA region.

“As the world’s largest food delivery service operating across six continents, Uber Eats will power the Olympic and Paralympic Village’s on-demand delivery program, delivering to athletes during their stay. LA28 plans to feature Uber Eats mobile ordering within-venue at select locations, enhancing the spectator experience.”

And there was this:

“LA28 is committed to hosting a transit-first Games, and Uber will provide comprehensive rideshare solutions including cars, bikes, and scooters to support multi-modal journeys to and from LA28 venues and mobility hubs.”

This will be interesting, especially in access and security controls for not only Uber drivers, but also vehicles and passengers. The announcement also noted Uber will be an ad buyer on NBC’s Olympic and Paralympic coverage.

One of the hidden aspects of the build-up to an Olympic Games is the quiet but expansive pre-event programming which goes on a host region.

Multiple National Olympic Committees have already made arrangements for pre-Games training, auxiliary housing, hospitality and other programs in the Los Angeles area. But there is also actual training going on. The Oceania National Olympic Committees (ONOC) just completed its first “LA 2028 Development Training Camp Pilot Programme” in Mission Viejo, California.

Completed last month, it brought delegations from Fiji, Samoa, and Tuvalu to the Marguerite Aquatic Complex in Mission Viejo for swimming and Laguna Hills High School Stadium for athletics for a 10-day training camp in June.

The project was designed to accelerate development for athletes and coaches on the road to LA28, by offering access to world-class training facilities and Olympic-level coaching expertise. There will be many more of these.

● Olympic Games 2032: Brisbane ● With a huge venue construction program for the 2032 Games now approved, Infrastructure Australia data shows that the need for a projected 98,500 construction workers by next March and only 43,800 workers expected to be available, for a shortage of 54,700.

The expectation is that workers from other Australian states – and some from outside the country – will come in to fill the need. The Queensland government is also aware that housing and other services will be needed and is saying it will activate programs to meet the challenge.

● Sports Medicine ● The Associated Press reported Wednesday that a ruling from the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights on South Africa’s two-time women’s 800 m champion Caster Semenya’s appeal against the World Athletics regulations on hyperandrogenism is expected on Thursday.

The federation’s rules sidelined Semenya and other female runners due to (naturally) high levels of testosterone, believed to provide such athletes with “differences in sex development” an advantage over other women. If the ECHR rules in her favor, it will send the case back for more review, starting at the Swiss Federal Tribunal. If she is turned down, her case is over.

● Aquatics ● World Aquatics noted the depth and breadth of its anti-doping program and the amount of testing which has been undertaken on its behalf by the International Testing Agency prior to the World Aquatics Championships that will start on 11 July.

“In total, 4,018 anti-doping tests have been conducted on athletes participating in the World Aquatics Championships – Singapore 2025 since 1 January 2025, resulting in an average of two tests per athlete.

“Additionally, all newly approved Neutral Athletes have been tested at least four times within the last 12 months, including at least one test conducted by World Aquatics.”

Testing figures showed that Chinese and Russian athletes were the most heavily-sampled swimmers over the last 12 months:

● 8.80 average tests per Chinese swimmer
● 8.20 average tests per Russian swimmer
● 4.13 average tests per U.S. swimmer
● 4.00 average tests per Australian swimmer
● 3.60 average tests per French swimmer

As an example, China’s Olympic 100 m Freestyle champion Zhanle Pan has been tested eight times in 2025: four each by World Aquatics and by others. American Katie Ledecky has been tested seven times: three times by World Aquatics and four times by others.

The top six most-tested swimmers were all Chinese, tested 11 or 12 times this year, four of which were by World Aquatics.

● Cycling ● Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel (NED) won the flat, 33.0 km time trial in and around Caen in stage 5 of the 112th Tour de France, finishing in 36:42.02, ahead of race favorite Tadej Pogacar (SLO: +16.68), who took over the race lead.

Behind those two was Edoardo Affini (ITA: +33.06) and so Pogacar now has a 42-second lead on Evenepoel, 59 seconds on Kevin Vauquelin (FRA) and 1:13 on two-time winner and main rival Jonas Vingegaard (DEN). American Matteo Jorgenson is fifth, 1:22 back. Evenepoel was a disastrous 67th in the first stage, but has climbed back into contention in the last two stages.

In Washington, D.C., three-time Tour de France winner Greg LeMond received his Congressional Gold Medal, originally granted in 2020, but delayed until now due to the Covid-19 pandemic. LeMond said:

“I am honored beyond words to receive this Congressional Gold Medal. I stand here knowing this honor isn’t mine alone. It belongs to every teammate, every supporter, every family member and to all of the extraordinary Americans whose courage and sacrifice made my life and career possible. I am proud to be an American, and I thank you, all of you, from the bottom of my heart.”

At the women’s Giro d’Italia, the uphill-finishing, 142 km fourth stage reinstated Swiss Marlen Reusser as the race leader. Australia’s Sarah Gigante won the stage in 3:56:22, with Italy’s Elisa Longo Borghini and Reusser both 25 seconds back, with prior leader Anna Henderson (GBR) in 47th (+9:56).

So, Reusser, Longo Borghini (+0:16) and Gigante (+0:34) are 1-2-3, with a hilly stage and a major uphill finish in stage seven ahead.

● Football ● The semifinals of the FIFA Club World Cup concluded on Wednesday with both matches played in high heat with 3 p.m. kickoffs at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey and Chelsea (GBR) and Paris St.-Germain (FRA) advancing to the final.

On Tuesday, temperatures were reported at 95 F as Chelsea for goals from Joao Pedro (BRA) in the 18th and 56th and shut down Brazilian club Fluminense, 2-0, with a crowd of 70,556 in the 82,500-seat venue.

Wednesday’s game started in 92 F temps and was delayed for 10 minutes due to the late arrival of team buses. It was a rout for PSG, up 2-0 after nine minutes and finished off Real Madrid (ESP) by 4-0, before 77,542.

The final will be Sunday, also at MetLife, with cooler temperatures expected and a high of 83 F.

The tournament will be declared a success by FIFA, but there are clear issues to be dealt with ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, including questions concerning kickoff times and high temperatures, field quality, ticket costs, and availability and visa access for fans of the 47 visiting teams to the U.S., which will provide 11 of the 16 venues.

● Modern Pentathlon ● At the UIPM World Relay Championships in Alexandria (EGY), France took the men’s title with Leo Bories and Mathis Rochat winning in obstacle and swimming, then hanging on in the Laser Run (in third place) to win, 1,488 and 1,486, over the Czech Republic.

Egypt, with teen star Farida Khalil and Malak Ismail, won the women’s relay with 1,314 points to 1,286 for Hungary, also winning at obstacle and swimming.

● Shooting ● A great start for the U.S. at the ISSF Shotgun World Cup in Lonato (ITA), with four-time Olympic champion Vincent Hancock taking the men’s Skeet gold in shoot-off with 2013 Worlds bronze winner Henrik Janssen (SWE), 7-6, after a 53-all tie after 60 targets in the final.

It was an all-American show in the women’s final, as 2024 World Cup Final champ Sam Simonton won, 56-53, over 2017 World Champion Dania Jo Vizzi. It’s Simonton’s second career World Cup gold.

Trap qualifying begins on Thursday.

● Swimming ● Swimswam.com reported that USA Swimming has elevated Jake Grosser, the Managing Director for Marketing and Communications, to the position of Chief Operating Officer.

Grosser moved up after Shana Ferguson left the organization to go to the LA28 organizing committee. Nikki Warner was promoted to Senior Director of Communications, replacing Grosser’s position on the communications side.

USA Swimming is still looking for a new chief executive, after not renewing Tim Hinchey’s contract last year, then selecting Delaware athletic director Chrissi Rawak, who withdrew after nine days as CEO-designate, before she actually began the job.

● Taekwondo ● Uzbekistan’s Ulugbek Rashitov, the men’s 68 kg Olympic gold medalist in Tokyo and Paris, was banned for two years for whereabouts failures by the International Testing Agency.

Still just 23, he accepted the penalty, from 13 May 2025 to 12 May 2027, will ahead of the qualifying period for the 2028 Olympic Games.

Observed: That Rashitov, who has one World Championships medal – a 2023 bronze – would just give away two years between Games leaves one to consider how important the Olympic Games is to him and how unimportant everything else is. That’s not a healthy thing for taekwondo, or many other sports in which the same is true.

At the World Taekwondo World Cup Team Championships in Chuncheon (KOR), China won the men’s title over South Korea, then the Korean women defeated China, and finally, Uzbekistan defeated Morocco for the Mixed Team gold.

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TRANSGENDER: U.S. sues California on lack of Title IX compliance, asks for permanent injunction against transgenders

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ U.S. vs. CALIFORNIA ≡

As promised by U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon on Monday, the U.S. Department of Justice filed suit on Wednesday against the California Department of Education and the California Interscholastic Federation over its allowance of transgender girls to compete in its high school sports competitions, under state law.

The 24-page complaint (8:25-cv-1485) was filed in Federal Court for the Central District of California, in Los Angeles and asks for, “[a] declaratory judgment that Defendants’ policies, practices, and actions violate Title IX and Defendant CDE’s Title IX contractual assurances” plus a permanent injunction against further violations and an order to:

“(1) Issue directives to all California CIF member schools prohibiting the participation of males in athletic competitions designated for females;

“(2) Implement a monitoring and enforcement system to ensure compliance with Title IX’s requirement of equal athletic opportunity;

“(3) Establish a process to compensate female athletes who have been denied equal athletic opportunities due to Defendants’ violations, including correcting past athletics records; and

“(4) Submit regular compliance reports to the Court and the United States for a period of no less than five years.”

Monetary penalties were also requested, but with no specific amount given.

The case is laid out in the introduction, which includes:

● “4. Defendants’ policies and actions are harming girls by denying girls the opportunity to compete in student sports on a level playing field in which they have the same opportunities as boys. Defendants’ athletics policies and practices unfairly force girls to compete against boys in competitions designated for girls. These policies and actions discriminate based on sex and harm female student athletes under Defendants’ educational charge.

● “5. Not only do Defendants’ policies and actions eviscerate equal athletic opportunities for girls but they also require girls to share intimate spaces, such as locker rooms, with boys, causing a hostile educational environment that denies girls educational opportunities. …

● “7. The inherent physiological differences between the two sexes generally make them not similarly situated in athletics. These physiological differences exist regardless of a person’s subjective ‘gender identity.’”

The suit points to the regulations which have been implemented around Title IX with respect to athletics, in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), specifically:

“The Athletics Regulation first declares a general prohibition on the use of sex in athletics, providing that ‘[n]o person shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, be treated differently from another person or otherwise be discriminated against in any interscholastic, intercollegiate, club or intramural athletics offered by a recipient, and no recipient shall provide any such athletics separately on such basis.’ 34 C.F.R. § 106.41(a).

“[D]ue to the physical advantages males generally have over females, the Athletics Regulation permits recipients to separate athletic teams by sex: ‘[A] recipient may operate or sponsor separate teams for members of each sex where selection for such teams is based upon competitive skill or the activity involved is a contact sport.’ 34 C.F.R. § 106.41(b).”

California, of course, passed AB1266 in 2013, which is now codified as Calif. Education Code sec. 221.5(f):

“A pupil shall be permitted to participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, and use facilities consistent with his or her gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil’s records.”

Following the announcement of Pres. Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14201 – “Keeping Men Out Of Women’s Sports” on 5 February 2025, the CIF asked California State Superintendent of Education Tony Thurmond about the conflict with the state law, also codified as CIF Bylaw 300.D. Thurmond replied:

“CIF should continue to comply. Going forward, we appreciate your continuing efforts to protect transgender student-athletes from discrimination and harassment.”

The suit cites five situations in which transgender athletes – all unnamed in the suit – competed in the girls division, starting with AB Hernandez of Jurupa Valley High School, who won the California State High School track & field titles in the girls’ high jump and long jump and was second in the long jump. Also cited were four more athletes, two more in track & field in the Southern Section and Central Coast Section, a three-sport in the North Coast Section and a volleyball player in the Central Coast Section.

In a video posted on X, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi appeared with Education Secretary McMahon and noted that California is not the only target regarding Title IX infractions:

“We’ve suited Maine, we’re in litigation with Minnesota, we’ve sent multiple letters, and if you do not comply, you’re next. The Department of Education and the Department of Justice, we will protect girls in girls sports.”

No reply announcements were posted by the California Education Department, or the CIF.

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TSX SPECIAL: It’s here! Our updated, 699-event International Sports Calendar for 2025, 2026 and more now posted!

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ TSX CALENDAR ≡

The 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan Cortina is coming and the full schedule of winter-sport World Cups and qualifiers is now available … all in one place! It’s all in the latest update to our TSX calendar – an exclusive 699-event listing– for 2025, 2026 and a few of the larger events beyond to 2034.

Our updated International Sports Calendar focuses on sports and events on the Olympic and Winter Games program for 2026 and 2028, plus a few other meetings and multi-sport events.

Please note: this listing will change! However, this edition is a good place to start for following many of the events coming up in the rest of a busy year ahead.

Two calendars are included in the single PDF download: an 15-page listing in chronological order and a 16-page listing by sport (and in date order within each sport).

It’s free! Get your download right now, right here!

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PANORAMA: Milan Cortina ‘26 budget reported now up to €2 billion; three dozen Russian & Belarusian “neutrals” entered in 2025 FIE Worlds

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Winter Games 2026: Milan Cortina ● The Rome daily Il Fatto Quotidiano reported that a government review of the finances of the 2025 Winter Olympic organizing committee shows that the budget has apparently expanded again to about €2.0 billion (~$2.34 billion U.S.).

This is €300 million above the €1.7 billion “lifetime budget” adopted in April, with €248 million of the increase attributed to the Winter Paralympic Games, for temporary infrastructure (€66.2 million), rents and services (€39.3 million), transportation (€30.5 million) and television support (€24.4 million), plus another €79.1 million for logistical support for the overall Games effort and some smaller items.

Another €43 million was allocated to government agencies for safety and security measures for the Games, and not part of the organizing committee’s budget.

● Russia ● Russian athletes refused to sign declarations required by the Polish hosts ahead of the World Rowing U-23 Championships in Poznan, scheduled to start on 23 July, and will not compete.

The Russian news agency TASS reported that, according to the head of the Russian Rowing Federation:

“[T]he Poles insisted that all Russian rowers sign declarations before participating in the competition, in which they had to indicate that they do not receive Russian state funding, as well as sponsorship funds from companies or individuals associated with the Russian Federation. Russian rowers must also sign that they have not expressed and do not intend to express support for actions in Ukraine, the state policies of Russia and Belarus and their leaders.”

World Rowing allows Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as neutrals.

The International Fencing Federation (FIE), which allows Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as neutrals, and as teams, has allowed the entries of two-time women’s Olympic Team Sabre gold medalist Sofiya Velikaya, two-time 2016 Olympic gold medalist Yana Egorian and Tokyo 2020 Team Sabre gold medalist Olga Nikitina, among others, to the 2025 FIE World Championships in Georgia, beginning 22 July. A total of 17 men and 18 women “neutrals” are entered in the six individual events, plus a few more in the team competitions.

The FIE, whose elected president is Russian Alisher Usmanov, decided in June to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to be entered as neutrals simply by signing a promise that they have not been and were not now in support of Russia’s war against Ukraine, eliminating independent reviews.

At the same time, the FIE confirmed that Ukraine’s four-time women’s World Sabre Champion and six-time Olympic medalist, Olha Kharlan, will not compete at the Worlds. She posted a short note, stating “‘Neutrality’ is coming on the World Championship in Tbilisi. Well done, FIE” over an entry sheet with the names of the “neutral” entries.

Ukrainian federation president Mykhailo Illiashev told RBC-Ukraine:

“From the very beginning, we have emphasized that this entire process of verifying Russian fencers for neutrality is a farce. Now, I hope, this has become clear to all the other foreign federations that pretended the selection was legitimate.

“This brazen decision became possible because all previous complaints from the Ukrainian Fencing Federation were ignored, including by the International Olympic Committee.”

● Cycling ● Slovenian race favorite Tadej Pogacar scored his first win of the 112th Tour de France with a tight victory over Dutch star Mathieu van der Poel in Tuesday’s fifth stage.

The hilly, 174.2 km route to Rouen finished with a sprint of six riders, with Pogacar scoring his 100th professional race win and 18th Tour de France stage victory in 3:50:29. Two-time champion Jonas Vingegaard was third (same time) and Oscar Olney (GBR) was fourth.

Van der Poel and Pogacar are now tied for the race lead, with the Dutchman still wearing the yellow jersey, on criteria. Wednesday’s fifth stage is a flat Individual Time Trial of 33 km in and around Caen.

● Football ● Goal.com reported that following the U.S. loss to Mexico, 2-1, in the CONCACAF Gold Cup final in Houston, players responded to the defeat differently.

Midfielder Tyler Adams said, “I told every player after the game how proud I was just of the growth of every single individual. … To come together as a new group and make a final? It’s a positive and we’ll make sure it carries forward.”

Defender Chris Richards, one of the best players in the tournament overall, was not as positive:

“I think everyone grieves differently, but I think some people – and I know myself personally it hurt – but maybe it’s something that needed to happen.

“You take it on the chin and you keep pushing forward. And I promise you we won’t lose anymore finals against Mexico. I threw my medal away. There’s no point in having a silver medal. I think, as a nation, we strive for greatness. And I think, as individuals, we do, too. So, going forward, that’s what we’re going to do.”

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TRANSGENDER: California “respectfully disagrees” with U.S. Dept. of Education resolution on trans athletes, invites court showdown

By
Rich Perelman
-
The California Interscholastic Federation's special rule on transgenders for qualifying to the 2025 State track & field meet.

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≡ CALIFORNIA SAYS NO ≡

“The California Department of Education (CDE) received the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights’ (OCR’s) June 25, 2025 Letter of Finding and Proposed Resolution Agreement in the above-referenced OCR matter.

“The CDE respectfully disagrees with OCR’s analysis, and it will not sign the Proposed Resolution Agreement.”

That’s the text of a 7 July 2025 letter from California Department of Education General Counsel Len Garfinkel, rebuffing the demand by the U.S. Department of Education on 25 June to agree to a six-point action plan as part of a resolution agreement from the Education Department’s finding that the California Department of Education and the California Interscholastic Federation are in violation of Title IX by discrimination against women and girls on the basis of sex.

The DOE’s view was crystalized thus:

“Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 requires schools to ensure equal opportunities for girls, including in athletic activities, but California has actively prevented this equality of opportunity by allowing males in girls’ sports and intimate spaces.”

The CIF sent it own reply to the Education Department, referring to Garfinkel’s letter and declining to accept the resolution agreement.

California has had, since 2013, a law (AB1266) which states:

“A pupil shall be permitted to participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, and use facilities consistent with his or her gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil’s records.”

Education Secretary Linda McMahon replied to both letters on X:

“California has just REJECTED our resolution agreement to follow federal law and keep men out of women’s sports.

“Turns out Gov. Newsom’s acknowledgment that “it’s an issue of fairness” was empty political grandstanding.

“@CAgovernor, you’ll be hearing from @AGPamBondi”

California Governor Gavin Newsom talked about the transgenders-in-sports issue on a podcast discussion with conservative firebrand Charlie Kirk in March, saying:

“I think it’s an issue of fairness. I completely agree with you on that.

“It is an issue of fairness, it’s deeply unfair. We’ve got to own that. We’ve got to acknowledge it.”

One of the resolution points demanded by the Education Department was to have female-at-birth athletes receive all awards “misappropriated” by transgenders. The CIF, in a very clever move, ruled that any placement or award made by Jurupa Valley transgender AB Hernandez in the girls high jump, long jump or triple jump at the CIF Southern Section qualifying meet and at the California State meet would also be given to the next-in-line female-at-birth athlete. So, with Hernandez winning two events and placing second in a third, female-at-birth competitors were also given the same places and awards at State, and no one lost a qualifying place to Hernandez from the Southern Section meet. 

Transgenders in track & field have not only been involved in the California Interscholastic Federation, but also at the state meets in Oregon and Washington, although the Education Department’s attention has been on California.

Next up, apparently, will be a filing in Federal court from the U.S. Justice Department.

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ATHLETICS: Kipyegon came to the Pre Classic for a women’s world 1,500 m record, so Chebet said, why not me too, in the 5,000?

By
Rich Perelman
-
A world women's 5,000 m for Kenyan star Beatrice Chebet! (Photo: Diamond League AG).

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≡ PRE CLASSIC QUOTES ≡

Saturday’s Prefontaine Classic had everything you could want in a track meet: bright skies, a full house and fantastic performances, with two world records and world-leading performances in nine events.

Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet was clear about chasing a world record in the women’s 5,000 m, which meant she would be the first to run under 14 minutes, and she did it, in 13:58.06, with a 61.8 final lap in 75 F temperatures! She said afterwards:

“I’m so happy; after running in Rome [14:03.69, no. 2 ever], I said I have to prepare for a record, because in Rome I was just running to win a race, but after running 14:03, I said that I’m capable of running a world record.

“So, let me go back home, and then come to Eugene. When I was coming here to Eugene, I was coming to prepare to run a world record, and I said I have to try. I said if Faith [Kipyegon] is trying, why not me?

“And today, I’m so happy because I’ve achieved being the first woman to run under 14. I’m so happy for myself. Discipline and hard work, my coach and my husband have been there assisting me in everything I’m doing in training and supporting me, and Faith has been a close friend to me.”

Kipyegon closed the meet by lowering her own world mark by 0.36 in the women’s 1,500 m, in 3:48.68, just nine days after her 26 June 4:06.91 “Breaking4″ mile time trial in Paris. She reflected:

“This is the time I was expecting when I was in Paris, I say that it’s still possible to run under 3:49, and I’m just so grateful. I thank God, I thank my management, I thank my coach and all of the support system who have been supporting me through this journey, so it feels amazing.

“I think the changes were that I was preparing myself for something special, which was to run under four minutes in a mile and I think I pushed myself, getting better and better toward the 1500, so I knew it was possible to still run under 3:49. I’m grateful to God that I made it today because I talked about it last week, and here I am breaking the world record.

“For me, I try to be consistent. I try to follow what my coach is telling me to do, to be better and better every year, so I’m grateful that I’ve started to break the four minutes like in Paris last week and coming here and running the 1500. This is the road to Tokyo and I would say I am in the right direction.”

“To be honest, the ladies are pushing me too because they are running quick now and I’m happy that when I broke a world record, they are all running very fast, and that is what I wanted, to motivate the younger generation to come and do even better.

“For them to follow me, it feels so great that they are pushing me as well to break records. These ladies are amazing, I love them. I love competing with them and I normally tell them, let’s push each other and we can still break barriers.”

Kipyegon ran 61.9, 2:03.4 (61.5) and 3:04.7 (61.3) through 1,200 m and ran her last 400 m in 59.1! Paris Olympic 1,500 m silver winner Jess Hull (AUS: 3:52.67 in third) put Kipyegon in perspective:

“For someone to show up and just keep doing it over and over again, she’s phenomenal. She’s a great athlete, physically on the track, but what she must think, and her thought processes and her mind, she’s a champion in every aspect, so it’s just incredible to have someone at my side like that on the start line, that I can really look up to every capacity.

“She’s amazing. It’s incredible to see her starting to get the respect she deserves beyond the track and field fanatics; the world is starting to see what an incredible woman she is.”

Although not a record-setter, Jamaica’s Olympic men’s 100 m silver winner Kishane Thompson impressed with his 9.85 (+0.4) win:

“I’m the only one that can stop me. I don’t say that to brag, but to be honest, once I better my execution, amazing things are going to happen.

“It’s not just one component, it’s putting all of them together, from the start to the finish. Because I can work on one component, but if I can’t put them together it doesn’t make sense.

“It was a fierce competition, they ran me to the line. I’m really appreciative of it, it will help me to get better, step by step, and vice versa for everyone. It’s work, mental and physical. And you got to trust yourself, trust the process, trust the team, trust the coach, and so forth.”

By contrast, men’s hammer American Record-setter Rudy Winkler (83.16 m/272-10) had no expectations at all:

“My training this week was very bad, so I kind of came into this like zero expectations of like ‘whatever I throw, I throw,’ so I was super surprised by that today.

“I train out in Washington D.C. so we had some of the worst humidity and heat in the country this past week, so that was really tough.

“I was coming back yesterday in my pre-meet so I was like, ‘right I just need to get some throw in and see how I’m feeling tomorrow.’ And then in my warmups today I was like ‘right, I’m back to where I was and can throw far today.'”

“I know I always throw well here. My last American records was here at Trials in 2021. It feels good to be back. I love Eugene. I love the stadium. It’s always fun to throw here.”

The happiest star of the day was clearly Tara Davis-Woodhall of the U.S., the Paris women’s long jump champion, who went from third to first on her final jump, a world-leading 7.07 m (23-2 1/2):

“That was incredible, that’s what competition is about. I haven’t been the last jumper in a long time, since the new order, so it was really good to have all eyes on me and put myself under that pressure. I loved it.

“You have to have a good competition to bring eyes. You have to have that dynamic of ‘Who’s gonna win? Who’s gonna win?’ and when people say field events are boring; was that boring to you?

“I was all over the place on this runway. I’m trying to figure some new things out. I’ve got so much more speed, so much more power. 7.07, I’m okay with it. Another season’s best, I’m stepping up two centimeters further, I can’t complain.”

“This is insane, the crowd was silent when they were waiting for that jump, and that was perfection. The energy, it’s here. You’re cheering for everyone that comes out. This is one of the most knowledgeable stadiums ever.”

Maybe the most relieved athlete of all was Jamaican women’s hurdles winner Ackera Nugent (12.32):

“The race was okay. My allergies are killing me, but I was able to hold it together. I knew that with the ladies I would be lined up with that I have to be at my A game. So, I came out here today and followed the instructions of my coach and I executed.”

Just some of the best post-race comments from Pre. Next up on the Diamond League schedule is the Herculis meet in Monaco on Friday, 11 July.

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PANORAMA: Swimming in Seine starts Saturday, stops Sunday; logo for 2026 Cross Country Worlds in Florida; kissing defense vs. doping wins in court!

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Games 2024: Paris ● The Seine River was triumphantly re-opened to public swimming at three locations on Saturday as promised by the City of Paris, but then closed again on Sunday.

The Seine cleaning project was a major focus of the City’s preparations for the 2024 Olympic Games, with open-water swimming and the triathlons held there, and the re-opening on Saturday was celebrated with plenty of swimmers.

But rain on Sunday created potential overflows of the cleaning system and caused the river to be closed once again. Under good conditions, Seine river swimming will continue through August.

● Olympic Games 2028: Los Angeles ● While there was plenty of debate and turmoil over the 2025-26 City of Los Angeles budget, completed with a pending $1 billion deficit in sight, the $14.10 billion spending plan did include a specific allocation related to the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

In a list of miscellaneous expenditures, $5,281,868 was allocated for “2028 Games Project Public Right of Way Improvements.” This was not requested by Mayor Karen Bass, but added by the City Council during its budget hearings and accepted by the Mayor in the final resolution.

● Olympic Winter Games 2026: Milan Cortina ● The famed 1956 ski jump at Cortina d’Ampezzo, used for the 1956 Winter Games, is being renovated and restored, along with the construction of a multipurpose building, but will not be a venue for the Games.

The jump will be restored by next February, but the building and stands will be finished later; the 2026 ski jumping will be held at the Predazzo in Val di Fiemme, with 106 m and 134 m hills.

● Athletics ● The logo for the 2026 World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee, Florida was unveiled, ahead of the 10 January 2026 event:

“The WXC Tallahassee 26 logo highlights Florida’s global identity as the Sunshine State, and features an orange, the state fruit, and orange blossoms, the state flower, reflecting Florida’s deep agricultural heritage. The lush greenery includes the sabal palm, Florida’s official state tree, reinforcing Tallahassee’s scenic natural beauty and its 700 miles of trails. The depiction of water represents Florida’s abundant rivers, lakes and expansive coastline statewide.”

The Apalachee Regional Park course will welcome more than 400 runners from 45 countries, returning to the U.S. for the first time since 1992.

● Basketball ● The U.S. women had to fight hard to win the FIBA AmeriCup in Santiago (HI), finally overcoming undefeated Brazil by 92-84 in the final. Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes scored 27 in the final to lead the U.S. and received the Most Valuable Player award for the tournament. She averaged 14.0 points per game and 3.4 rebounds.

The AmeriCup title qualifies the U.S. for the 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup in Germany.

Mexican forward Gabriela Jaquez, who plays for UCLA, won the Rising Star award, averaging 12.0 points and 6.1 rebounds a game.

The American men’s U-19 FIBA World Cup champions were honored after Sunday’s 109-76 win over Germany in the championship final, with the Most Valuable Player award going to BYU guard A.J. Dybantsa, who averaged 14.3 points per game and 4.1 rebounds, shooting 50% from the field.

The U.S. also set a record for the highest per-game scoring average in the history of the tournament, with 114.6 points per game, replacing the 1987 Yugoslavian team that averaged 108.9. The previous best by a U.S. team was 104.7 by the 1979 champions.

● Cycling ● Belgian sprint star Tim Merlier won stage 3 of the 112th Tour de France on Monday, leading all 181 riders across the line in the 178.3 km flat course ending in Dunkerque in 4:16:55.

Merlier won the chaotic finish over Italy’s Jonathan Milan and German Phil Bauhaus at the line; second stage winner Mathieu van der Poel (NED) maintained his overall lead on defending champ Tadej Pogacar (SLO: +0.04) and two-time winner Jonas Vingegaard (DEN: +0:06).

First stage winner Jasper Philipsen (BEL) had to abandon the race after a crash at an intermediate sprint mark about 60 km from the finish.

There was outrage from the second stage, finishing in Boulogne-sur-Mer in northwest France, as spectators were photographed watching the race from a cemetery, with some actually standing on gravestones to see the riders.

At the eight-stage women’s Giro d’Italia, Swiss Marlen Reusser won the opening time trial, then Britain’s Anna Henderson took the 92 km uphill climb to Aprica in 2:24:30, just ahead of Dilyxine Miermont (FRA), the only one close.

With 26 seconds or more on the rest of the field, Henderson is the race leader by 15 seconds over Reusser and 31 seconds in Elisa Longo Borghini (ITA).

● Fencing ● The Court of Arbitration for Sport dismissed an appeal by the World Anti-Doping Agency against the clearance of French fencing star Ysoara Thibus of a doping charge by the International Fencing Federation (FIE).

Thibus, the 2022 World Foil Champion, tested positive for Ostarine, a prohibited substance with effects similar to testosterone, on 14 January 2024. She was cleared by the FIE’s doping panel, which “determined that Ms Thibus was found to bear no fault or negligence and did not impose any period of ineligibility.” Thibus was then able to compete at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

WADA appealed the finding, “rejecting the Athlete’s explanations that the most probable cause for the ADRV was a contamination through kissing with her then partner, who had been using a product containing ostarine without her knowledge.” The outcome:

“The CAS Panel considered the evidence and noted that it is scientifically established that the intake of an ostarine dose similar to the dose ingested by Ms Thibus’ then partner would have left sufficient amounts of ostarine in the saliva to contaminate a person through kissing. The Panel also accepted that Ms Thibus’ then partner was taking ostarine from 5 January 2024, and that there was contamination over 9 days with a cumulative effect.”

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FENCING: International federation ends independent checks of “neutral” athletes, requires only a written promise now by Russians and Belarusians

By
Rich Perelman
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≡ “NEUTRAL OATHS” ADOPTED ≡

The International Fencing Federation, with a President-in-absentia in Alisher Usmanov of Russia, disclosed in a new information letter that it has ended the process of the reviewing and confirmation of the “neutral” status of fencers from Russia and Belarus:

“During its meeting of 26 June 2025, the Executive Committee discussed the complexity of the current process which has proven to be burdensome and particularly costly, as a significant amount of financial resources has been allocated to it.

“This process essentially involves a Group (Eligibility Review Group), consisting of Executive Committee members, collecting information about the applicants. A cyber security company then reviews this information and provides its findings to an independent lawyer, who reviews the information, and issues a report with his conclusions to the Group. Ultimately, the Executive Committee decides whether to grant or not the AIN and Neutral Athletes Support Personnel status.

“In light of this, the Executive Committee has decided to simplify the process, to make it quicker and less expensive. Applicants for the status of AIN and Neutral Athletes Support Personnel are now required to submit to the Group a signed Application, which includes a declaration under oath confirming that:

“a. they support and will support the peace mission of the Olympic Movement;

“b. they have not made and will not make any public statements supporting the war, including in media or in social media;

“c. they did not and will not participate in pro-war demonstrations or events;

“d. they have not displayed and will not display any symbol supporting the war:

“e. they will respect the Olympic Charter, FIE Statutes, Ethical Code, Safeguarding Policy, Rules and any directives from the FIE;

“f. they will respect the FIE Anti-doping rules and the World Anti-Doping Code;

“g. they will meet all anti-doping requirements applicable to them;

“h. they will respect the clothing and fencing equipment requirements;

“i. if they are granted the AIN or Neutral Athlete Support Personnel status, they agree to participate in FIE competitions under the ‘AIN’ acronym and under Neutral Athlete
Support Personnel status. With regards to Protocol, the FIE flag and anthem will be used”

Further, the FIE has now decided – in contravention of the International Olympic Committee recommendation from February 2022 – to allow Russian and Belarusian teams to compete once again:

“During its meeting of 24 April 2025, the Executive Committee decided to allow neutral teams, composed of athletes who have been granted the AIN status by the FIE Executive Committee, to participate in FIE Senior team competitions, starting from the 2025 Senior European Championships.”

The 2025 FIE World Championships will be held from 22-30 July at Tbilisi (GEO).

Observed: This is no great surprise from the FIE, long controlled by the Russian Usmanov, whose personal donations to the federation totaled about $98.5 million U.S. from 2008-21, but stopped after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

So, the financial pressure on the federation appears to be quite real, but then so is the continuing war by Russia.

It will be fascinating to see whether the IOC becomes concerned, under new President Kirsty Coventry (ZIM), of having its recommended ban on “Russian” and “Belarusian” teams overturned by the one Olympic-sport federation with a Russian president.

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FOOTBALL: Mexico claims CONCACAF Gold Cup final with 2-1 win over U.S.; Club World Cup closing with better crowds, discount tickets

By
Rich Perelman
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The CONCACAF Gold Cup Trophy

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≡ CONCACAF GOLD CUP ≡

Defending champion Mexico faced the U.S. for the eighth time in the CONCACAF Gold Cup final in front of a full house at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, and came away with a second straight trophy, 2-1.

The U.S. got off to a dream start amid the haze from the pre-game fireworks, with forward Sebastian Berhalter sending a right-footed line drive into the middle of the box on a long free kick to defender Chris Richards right in front of the goal and his header bounced off the underside of the crossbar and was across the goal line for a 1-0 lead at the 3:32 mark!

But Mexico dominated possession – 65% in the first half-hour – and continuously worked the U.S. side, looking for an opening. U.S. keeper Matt Freese had to make two saves, under constant pressure. Finally, in the 27th, midfielder Marcel Ruiz fed the ball into the box and striker Raul Jimenez quick-shot a left-footed strike that whooshed into the U.S. net, just under the crossbar, for the 1-1 tie.

The Americans took more possession after 35 minutes, and almost got a score at 45+1 as defender Alex Freeman got on the end of a long ball by Berhalter into the box and headed it as Mexican keeper Angel Malagon came out, with the ball bouncing off the side of Malagon’s head!

The half ended 1-1, with Mexico at 64% possession, a 7-3 edge on shots and 5-2 on shots on goal.

Mexico started the second half in control again, with only an occasional U.S. foray toward the Mexican goal. Off all the possession, Mexico scored in the 77th; off a corner, defender Johan Vasquez sent a header which was headed on by midfielder Edson Alvarez into the net for the 2-1 lead. It was initially called offsides, but then declared good after a video review.

The U.S. pressured for an equalizer and off a great service from defender Tim Ream, striker Patrick Agyemang couldn’t get a shot off in a scrum in front of the Mexican net at 90+2. But it ended 2-1 for Mexico, the aggressor throughout the game, with 60% of possession and finishing with 16-6 edge on shots.

It’s the 10th Gold Cup for Mexico, which won its sixth final over the U.S. (vs. two losses), and the first time for a back-to-back win since Mexico did it in 2009 and 2011.

The FIFA Club World Cup is coming to a close, with attendance improving for the big-name clubs in the quarterfinals.

The group stage saw attendance at 56.35% of capacity, which improved to 63.28% for the Round-of-16 games. It got better again for the quarterfinals on 4-5 July (capacities in parentheses):

● 43,091 (60,219) in Orlando for Fluminense (BRA) 2, Al-Hilal (KSA) 1
● 65,782 (67,594) in Philadelphia for Chelsea (ENG) 2, Palmeiras (BRA) 1
● 66,937 (71,000) in Atlanta for Paris St. Germain (FRA) 2, Bayern Munich (GER) 0
● 76,611 (82,500) in East Rutherford for Real Madrid (ESP) 3, Borussia Dortmund (GER) 2

That’s 95.8% of capacity (269,549/281,313), with the final three games at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford: Fluminense vs. Chelsea on Tuesday (8th) and Paris St. Germain vs. Real Madrid (9th), with the final on Sunday (13th).

Some of this was influenced by enormous ticket price cuts; The Associated Press reported Saturday:

“FIFA cut standard ticket prices for the semifinal between Chelsea and Fluminense at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Tuesday to $13.40 from $473.90 earlier in the past week.”

Prior games saw similar discounts, including for the quarterfinals. Through 60 matches, total attendance was 2,262,846 for an average of 37,714 per match. That’s not spectacular, but continues to demonstrate the interest in the giant, brand-name European clubs.

While the “need” for this tournament will be hotly debated within the football community, especially by the European clubs and leagues, the discussions about what was learned for the 2026 FIFA World Cup will take center stage, with questions about heat, match times, field quality and much more.

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PANORAMA: IOC flags issues for India on 2036 Olympic bid; Lappartient unopposed on third UCI term; Brazilian table tennis star refused visa for U.S. Smash

By
Rich Perelman
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Union Cycliste Internationale President David Lappartient (Photo: IOC video screen shot).

★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement.★

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Games 2036 ● India sent a large delegation of nearly 20 officials to Lausanne to meet with the International Olympic Committee in its quest to land the 2036 Olympic Games, and was told – according to a report – that it had work to do:

“Sources told The Indian Express that during the meeting – the first of its kind after India expressed interest to host the mega event – the IOC flagged concerns over governance issues at the Indian Olympic Association (IOA); the rampant doping menace; and the country’s poor performance at the Olympics. At last year’s Paris Games, India finished at 71st spot with just six medals.”

India is pitching Ahmedabad as its candidate city, and is among more than a dozen cities, regions or countries discussing bids for 2036, 2040 or 2044 with the IOC. There is no present timetable for naming a 2036 host, as the IOC is revisiting its selection procedures.

● World University Games 2025: Rhine-Ruhr ● The International University Sports Federation (FISU) posted a Friday statement on the eligibility of Russian and Belarusian athletes for the 2025 WUG in Germany, explaining, “FISU will continue to follow the recommendations of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the respective International Federation (IF).”

Russian or Belarusian athletes can only compete as “Individual Neutral Athletes” and

● “The invitation to compete at the Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU World University Games was only proposed for certain sports (based on the current participation status of that sport at the IOC and relevant International Federation). None of these sports are team sports.

● “Should the IF allow the participation under the status of Individual Neutral Athletes (AINs), their eligibility will be assessed by the relevant International Federation.”

The number of “AIN” athletes from Russia and Belarus were not specified.

● Cycling ● The Union Cycliste Internationale confirmed that at the UCI Congress in Kigali (RWA) on 25 September, incumbent President David Lappartient (FRA) will run unopposed:

“With regard to the Presidency, only David Lappartient, current UCI President, submitted a candidacy for the position. In accordance with Article 40, paragraph 3 of the UCI Constitution, his election for a third four-year term will be confirmed without a vote.”

● Table Tennis ● World men’s Singles silver medalist Hugo Calderano, who competes for Brazil but travels with a Portuguese passport, reported on his Web site that he was unable to get a U.S. visa to be able to compete at the World Table Tennis U.S. Smash tournament in Las Vegas:

“Hugo submitted his application, but given the longer than usual confirmation time by US authorities, he contacted Customs and Border Protection (CBP). He was then informed that he was no longer eligible for visa waiver because he had traveled to Cuba in 2023 to compete in the Pan American Championships and the qualifying event for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, events organized by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF).

“Given the situation, Hugo made every effort to obtain an emergency visa, counting on the support of the United States Table Tennis Association (USATT) and the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC). The emergency appointment was approved, but there was no availability for a consular interview that would allow him to arrive in time for the start of the competition.”

≡ RESULTS ≡

● Athletics ● Paris Olympian Martha Araujo (COL) defended her heptathlon title at the World Combined Events Gold Decastar in Talence (FRA), scoring 6,451 to top Americans Taliyah Brooks (6,365) and Michelle Atherley (6,283).

Puerto Rico’s Ayden Owens-Delerme was a clear winner in the decathlon, scoring 6,478 to 8,236 for defending champ Johannes Erm (EST).

● Badminton ● At the BWF World Tour Canada Open in Markham, third-seed Kenta Nishimoto (JPN) won his third career Tour gold over home favorite Victor Lai (CAN), 21-13, 21-14. Japan’s Manami Suizu completed the Singles sweep with a 21-12, 21-14 win over Thuy Linh Nguyen (VIE) in the women’s final.

Thailand won twice in Doubles, taking the women’s title and the Mixed Doubles, with Ruttanapak Oupthong and Jhenicha Sudjaipraparat beating Presley Smith and Jennie Gai (USA), 21-14, 21-17. Chinese Taipei won in men’s Doubles.

● Basketball ● The U.S. scored its ninth win in the FIBA men’s U-19 World Cup in Lausanne (SUI), sailing past Germany, 109-76, in the Sunday final. It’s the fifth win in the last seven tournaments for the U.S., which was really only challenged by Canada in the quarterfinals, winning by 108-102.

In the final, the U.S. was up by 56-47 at the half, but a 28-10 third quarter decided the issue. Michigan center Morez Johnson Jr. led the U.S. with 15 points on 5-6 shooting in the final.

The U.S. overwhelmed its first six opponents at the FIBA women’s AmeriCup in Santiago (CHI), meeting 6-0 Brazil in the final. This was a struggle all the way. The Americans were up, 25-22 at the quarter, down 47-45 at the half, still down 66-65 after three, but got the lead with an 11-3 run at 76-69 and held on to win by 92-84. Indiana Fever forward Damiris Dantas poured in 35 for Brazil, while Vanderbilt guard Mikayla Blakes scored 27 for the U.S.

The American women won their group games by 108-47, 80-43, 80-62 and 104-48, then took playoff wins against the Dominican Republic (110-44) and Canada (65-53) before the final.

● Beach Volleyball ● Top-seeded Americans Kristen Nuss and Taryn Brasher, the 2023 Worlds bronze medalists, won the Beach Pro Tour Elite 16 women’s final in Gstaad (SUI), beating Tina Graudina and Anastaija Samoilova (LAT) by 21-19, 21-18. It’s the eighth World Tour win for Nuss and Brasher together.

Sisters Anouk Verge-Depre and Zoe Verge-Depre won the all-Swiss third-place match, 21-17, 21-11, over Tanja Huberli and Leona Kernen.

The men’s title went to third-seeds Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan (QAT), the Tokyo Olympic bronze winners, winning two tight sets from 24th-seeds Jacob Holting Nilsson and Elmer Andersson (SWE), 21-19, 22-20.

Stefan Boermans and Yorick de Groot (NED) took third with a 21-23, 21-17, 15-10 win over George Wanderley and Andre Stein (BRA).

● Cycling ● The 112th Tour de France got underway in Lille on Saturday, with the first two stages mostly for the sprinters.

Belgium’s Jesper Philipsen won the opener, the 184.9 km course in and around Lille, in 3:53:11 in a final sprint over Biniam Girmay (ERI) and Soren Waerenskjold (NOR), with the top 33 given the same time. A notable casualty was Italian time trial star Filippo Ganna, who did not finish after a crash; Slovenian star Primoz Roglic, the four-time Vuelta a Espana winner, also had trouble and finished 79th (+0:39). Belgium’s double 2024 Olympic winner Remco Evenepoel had a first-day disaster, in 67th (+0:39).

The slightly hilly, rainy second stage of 209.1 km to Boulogne-sur-Mer ended with a mass sprint of 26, with Mathieu van der Poel (NED) winning his second career Tour stage in a duel with the race favorites, Tadej Pogacar (SLO) and Jonas Vingegaard (DEN), all timed in 4:45:41. That gives van der Poel the yellow leader’s jersey, at least for now.

Stages 3 and 4 on Monday and Tuesday are both expected to be for the sprinters, with a flat, Individual Time Trial in Caen for stage 5.

The unstoppable Jackson Goldstone (CAN) won his fourth UCI Mountain Bike World Series Downhill in a row in La Thuile (ITA), finishing just ahead of France’s two-time World Champion Loris Vergier, 3:27.134 to 3:27.738, with five-time World Champion Loic Bruni (FRA) third in 3:28.173.

German Nina Hoffmann took the women’s Downhill in 3:57.934, well ahead of World Champion Valentina Hoell (AUT: 4:00.928) and Gracey Hemstreet (CAN: 4:01.130)

● Fencing ● The USA Fencing summer nationals in Milwaukee, Wisconsin offered championships in division as young as age 10 all the way to past 80. Included were the Division I tournaments for all three weapons for men and women.

This was not a selection “trials” event, so many of the top American stars did not compete. But some did, notably 2023 World Champion Eli Dershwitz, returning to the piste for the first time since the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. He won the men’s senior Sabre title, 15-9, over Samuel Rightler. Henry Lawson won the men’s Epee over Gabriel Feinberg, 15-5, and Borys Budovskyi won Foil over Ethan Gassner, 15-13.

The women’s Epee final had 2024 Pan American champion Hadley Husisian outlasting defending champion Catherine Nixon, 15-11. Katerina Luna won the Foil title over JoJo Conway, 15-4, and the Sabre victory went to Siobhan Sullivan over Aria Bevacqua, 15-3.

● Gymnastics ● At the FIG Trampoline World Cup in Coimbra (POR), Olympic champ Ivan Litvinovich (BLR as a “neutral”) won the men’s title, scoring 66.37 over Paris runner-up Zisai Wang (CHN: 65.77).

Belarus’ Katsiaryna Yarshova (also “neutral”) won the women’s final, 58.06 to 57.41 over Russian “neutral” Anzhela Bladtcheva.

In the non-Olympic Double Mini, American Ruben Padilla won the men’s final at 31.900 and Kennedi Roberts of the U.S. took the women’s gold, scoring 27.300.

● Modern Pentathlon ● The UIPM World Cup Final was in Alexandria (EGY), with happy fans as home heroes won both the men’s and women’s titles.

Moutaz Mohamed, 20, the two-time World Junior champ, took the men’s title, scoring 1,583 points to 1,574 for Matej Lukes (CZE). Moutaz won the swimming, but started the Laser Run in fourth place, down 0:23. But he won the event in 10:00.33 and crossed first.

The women’s gold went to teen star Farida Khalil, 14, who won the obstacle and the swimming and started second (by 0:01) in the Laser Run. But her sixth-fastest time got her to the finish line first, with 1,470 points. That was comfortably ahead of Olympic bronze winner Seung-min Seong (KOR: 1,443) and Blanka Guzi (HUN: 1,440). In her four World Cups in 2025, Khalil finished 1-2-1-1.

● Sport Climbing ● Two Olympic quarterfinalists races for the women’s title at the IFSC World Cup in Speed in Krakow (POL), with Indonesia’s 2023 World Champion Desak Made Rita Kusuma Dewi winning over American Emma Hunt, 6.27 to 7.56.

The third-place match saw Olympic champ Alexandra Miroslaw (POL) top countrywoman Natalia Kalucka, 6.36 to 6.64.

Indonesia completed a sweep with gold and silver in the men’s final, as Raharjati Nursamsa set an Asian Record of 4.73, over Kiromal Katabin, who fell. Japan’s Omasa Ryo of Japan took the bronze at 5.48 over Zach Hammer of the U.S., who fell off near the top.

● Table Tennis ● Men’s star Kanak Jha tied the record for most men’s national Singles titles with his sixth at the USA Table Tennis national championships in Ontario, California. He defeated Nandan Naresh, 11-5, 11-5, 11-7, 8-11, 11-8, to defend his 2024 title and add to his wins in 2016-17-18-19.

Nikhil Kumar and Sid Naresh won the men’s Doubles by 3-1 over defending champions Daniel Tran and Nandan Naresh.

The top two seeds met in the women’s final, with no. 2 Sally Moyland winning by 4-1 over Amy Wang, 11-5, 11-7, 11-8, 2-11, 11-8. It’s Moyland’s first national title, in her third finals appearance, and second time against two-time winner Wang.

Wang and Abigail Yu won the women’s Doubles with a 3-0 sweep of Moyland and Jessica Reyes-Lai. For Wang, it was her fifth straight U.S. Doubles title.

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ATHLETICS: History at the Pre Classic with brilliant 13:58.06 world record by Chebet and 3:48.68 from Kipyegon among nine world leads!

By
Rich Perelman
-
Paris Olympic 5,000 and 10,000 m gold medalist: Kenya's Beatrice Chebet (Photo: Diamond League AG).

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≡ PREFONTAINE CLASSIC ≡

The 50th edition of the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon was designed to be special and it was, started with mid-70s temperatures and sunshine, leading to two world records, an American Record, lots of drama and world-leading performances in nine events!

● Men/200 m: 19.76, Letsile Tebogo (BOT)
● Men/Mile: 3:45.94, Niels Laros (NED)
● Men/10,000 m: 26:43.82, Biniam Mehary (ETH)
● Men/Shot Put: 22.48 m (73-9), Joe Kovacs (USA)
● Men/Hammer: 83.16 m (272-10), Rudy Winkler (USA) ~ American Record
● Women/1,500 m: 3:48.68, Faith Kipyegon (KEN) ~ World Record
● Women/Steeple: 8:45.25, Winfred Yavi (BRN)
● Women/5,000 m: 13:58.06, Beatrice Chebet (KEN) ~ World Record
● Women/Long Jump: 7.07 m (23-2 1/2), Tara Davis-Woodhall (USA)

The women’s 5,000 m was set up to challenge Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay’s 14:00.21 world record, and there were four in contention with eight laps left, with Olympic champ Beatrice Chebet (KEN) and Tsegay ahead of Kenyan Agnes Ngetich, the star of the Grand Slam Track circuit. Those three were alone a lap later, with Chebet leading. They passed the bell at 12:56, with Ngetich letting go, but Chebet still strong. Then Chebet exploded, blew away Tsegay, passed three lapped runners (in a 5,000!) and smashed the world record at 13:58.06, the first time ever a woman has run under 14 minutes!

Ngetich was second in 14:01.29 (no. 3 performer all-time), then Tsegay at 14:04.41 (no. 5 performance all-time). Kenyan Margaret Akidor was fourth, but was back at 14:30.34; Weini Kelati was the top American, in 10th at 14:38.15.

Kenya’s three-time Olympic 1,500 m winner Faith Kipyegon – coming off her “Breaking4″ attempt – headlined the women’s 1,500 m, and with two laps to go, Kipyegon, Olympic silver winner Jess Hull (AUS) and Diribe Welteji (ETH) had broken away. It was Kipyegon and Hull with 500 m to go and at the bell, then Kipyegon expanded the lead on the backstraight and roared to the finish alone in a world record of 3:48.68, smashing her own mark of 3:49.04 from 7 July 2024, almost exactly a year ago!

Welteji passed Hull around the bend and was second in 3:51.44 (now no. 8 all-time), with Hull at 3:52.67. Americans Nikki Hiltz (3:55.96) and Sinclaire Johnson (3:56.93 finished 5-6.

Those were the world records, but there were seven more world-leading performances:

Paris Olympic 200 m champion Letsile Tebogo (BOT) was in front off the turn, but was pressured on the straight by American Courtney Lindsey. But as Lindsey slowed, Tebogo had plenty left and won in a world-leading 19.76 (wind +0.7 m/s), over Lindsey’s seasonal best of 19.87 and Alexander Ogando (DOM: 19.94).

The men’s Bowerman Mile saw Olympic 1,500 m bronzer Yared Nuguse pressing pacesetter Abraham Alvarado from the start, with world 1,500 m leader Azzedine Habz (FRA) the main challenger with 600 m left. Nuguse and Habz were alone at the bell, and Nuguse pushed hard on the back straight, building a 5 m lead.

Inevitably, Nuguse tired down the straight and while Habz could not capitalize, 20-year-old Niels Laros (NED), a Paris Olympic finalist, charged down the straight on the inside and leaned hard to win in a national record (and world outdoor leader) 3:45.94 to 3:45.95 for Nuguse. Habz was third in 3:46.54 and then Paris winner Cole Hocker in 3:47.43.

Ethiopia swept the men’s non-Diamond League 10,000 m, with 18-year-old Biniam Mehary, the Paris Olympic 5,000 m sixth-placer, out-leaning 2024 Olympic 10,000 m silver winner Berihu Aregawi, in a world-leading 26:43.82 to 26:43.84, with Tokyo 2020 10,000 m winner Selemon Barega third in 26:44.13. Conner Mantz was the top American, in 12th at 27:35.22.

Three-time Olympic silver winner Joe Kovacs had been fairly quiet this season, but he blew up the men’s shot with a world-leading 22.35 m (73-4) in the second round, then improved to 22.48 m (73-9) in round three!

Nigeria’s Chuk Enekwechi got an African Record of 22.10 m (72-6 1/4) in round two, but was passed for second by Roger Steen of the U.S., with a lifetime best in round five at 22.11 m (72-6 1/2)!

The first fireworks of the day came in the morning, in the men’s hammer that started at 10 a.m. Olympic champ Ethan Katzberg (CAN) had the early lead at 80.16 m (263-0), but then two-time U.S. Olympian Rudy Winkler bombed his third throw out to a world-leading and American Record 83.16 m (272-10) and no one else came close! Winkler is now no. 18 all-time and upped his own American mark of 82.71 m (271-4) from 2021.

He also had following throws of 80.87 m (265-4) and 81.08 m (266-0), any of which would have won as Katzberg stayed second with his initial toss. Two-time U.S. Olympian Daniel Haugh finished fourth at 78.55 m (257-8).

Paris Olympic winner Winfred Yavi (BRN) and Uganda’s Tokyo Olympic winner Peruth Chemutai led the women’s Steeple with four laps to go, but with Olympic bronzer Faith Cherotich (KEN) close. Yavi took the lead and made a move with 500 m to go and she took the bell with a 3 m lead. That expanded to 20 m by the final water jump and won going away in a world-leading 8:45.25, the no. 3 performance in history!

Yavi was pushing so hard, she nearly tripped in the final two steps, but stayed up. Cherotich was second with a lifetime best of 8:48.71 (no. 4 all-time), then Chemutai in 8:51.77. American Gabi Jennings was sixth at 9:06.61, a lifetime best.

The women’s long jump had Tokyo Olympic champ Malaika Mihambo (GER) in front at 7.01 m (23-0) in the fourth round, with World Indoor winner Claire Bryant of the U.S. second at 6.80 m (22-3 3/4) and Paris Olympic champ Tara Davis-Woodhall third at 6.75 m (22-1 3/4). But Davis-Woodhall got the last chance, and made the most of it. With the crowd clapping behind her, she got all of the board and soared to a world-leading 7.07 m (23-2 1/2) win, with +1.9 m/s wind aid! She really is the drama queen of the event.

The U.S. scored wins in six more events:

The women’s 100 m placed Grand Slam Track star and world leader Melissa Jefferson-Wooden against Paris champion Julien Alfred (LCA) and 2023 World Champion Sha’Carri Richardson. The race was only about Jefferson-Wooden and Alfred and the American nursed a small lead all the way to the tape, winning in 10.75 (wind: -1.5 m/s) to 10.77, with Marie-Josee Ta Lou-Smith (CIV: 10.90) third and Jamaican champ Tina Clayton (11:02) fourth.

Richardson, running only her second 100 of the season, was eighth, but in a seasonal best of 11.19.

In the non-Diamond League women’s 100 m, Jacious Sears of the U.S. won in a seasonal best of 10.85 (+1.7), moving to equal-4th on the 2025 world list, ahead of Aleia Hobbs (10.90) and Liberia’s Thelma Davies (10.96).

Paris 400 m hurdles superstar Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone had her eye on the American Record of 48.70 in the women’s 400 m and she had the lead by 200 m. She charged down the straight, but gave back a little of her lead to Aaliyah Butler in the final meters to win in 49.43, a seasonal best. Butler followed in 49.86, then Bella Whittaker in 50.81.

Two-time World Champion Chase Jackson of the U.S. scared her recent American Record, winning the women’s shot at 20.94 m (68-8 1/2), the no. 2 throw in American history. World Indoor winner Sarah Mitton (CAN) reached 20.39 m (66-10 3/4) and Jaida Ross of the U.S. got third with a lifetime best of 20.13 m (66-0 1/2) for third.

Olympic champ Valarie Allman of the U.S. took the air out of the women’s discus early, reaching 69.48 m (227-11) in the first round! Two-time Olympic champ Sandra Elkasevic (CRO) settled into second in at 66.97 m (219-8) in round one, then Allman improved to 70.68 m (231-11) in round four! That secured her 26th win in a row.

Fellow American Cierra Jackson moved into second with a lifetime best at 67.82 m (222-6) in round five – her only fair throw – leaving Elkasevic in third. 

The men’s Invitational Mile was a fabulous win for ex-North Carolina star Ethan Strand, the NCAA Indoor mile runner-up, who won in 3:48.86 – no. 2 in 2025 – just ahead of Vince Ciattei (3:49.68) and Gary Martin (3:49.73).

Plenty of drama in the rest of the events:

Jamaican Olympic runner-up Kishane Thompson took over the men’s 100 m by the 40 m mark and roared away to an unchallenged 9.85 (+0.4) win. American Trayvon Bromell got a good start, but Britain’s Zharnel Hughes came on late to get second 9.91 to 9.94.

Britain’s Matthew Hudson-Smith won the men’s 400 m, holding off Khaleb McRae of the U.S. into the straight, then World Indoor winner Chris Bailey in the final 50 m, in a season’s best 44.10 to 44.15. Jacory Patterson of the U.S. moved up for third in 44.31, with McRae in 44.45.

Brazil’s Alison dos Santos, the 2022 Worlds winner in Eugene, held off Paris winner Rai Benjamin of the U.S., 46.65 to 46.71, with NCAA winner Ezekiel Nathaniel (NGR: 47.88) in third. Benjamin was coming on around the turn, but dos Santos scored his first win over Benjamin since the 2022 Worlds and only his third win all-time, in 12 races against the U.S. star.

The men’s vault was down to three by 5.80 m (19-0 1/4), with two-time World Champion Sam Kendricks and fellow American Austin Miller over, along with world-record man Mondo Duplantis (SWE). Only Duplantis could go higher, clearing 6.00 m (19-8 1/4) on his second try, then heading straight to a world-record try of 6.29 m (20-7 1/2), missing three times.

The non-Diamond League men’s discus was won by world-record holder Mykolas Alekna (LTU), the only one to reach 70 m to 70.97 m (232-10) in the second round. Ralford Mullings (JAM) was next best at 68.98 m (226-4), with Sam Mattis the top American in fifth at 65.06 m (213-5).

The women’s 800 m had Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Athing Mu-Nikolayev, but World Indoor silver winner Jemma Reekie (GBR) led at the bell, with world leader Tsige Duguma (ETH) taking over on the backstretch and holding off Prudence Sekgodiso (RSA) down the final straight, 1:57.10 to 1:57.16. Uganda’s Halimah Nakaayi moved up for third in 1:57.89; Reekie was seventh (1:58.86); Mu-Nikolayev fell back with 200 m to go and was 10th in 2:03.44.

The non-Diamond League women’s 100 m hurdles had former world-record holder Keni Harrison out well, but overtaken by Jamaica’s Ackera Nugent, who held on to win in 12.32 (+0.4), ahead of current world-record holder Tobi Amusan (NGR: 12.38), with Harrison third (12.50), just ahead of Paris Olympic winner Masai Russell (12.50). Americans Alia Armstrong and Tia Jones both fell early on.

The non-Diamond League women’s hammer saw Canadian Olympic champ Cam Rogers score a win and national record at 78.88 m (258-9) in the fourth round, taking over from world leader Brooke Andersen of the U.S., who reached 76.95 m (252-5) in the final round.

The Diamond League heads right back to Europe, with the Herculis meet in Monaco on 11 July.

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PANORAMA: Australia, Queensland agree on Brisbane 2032 funding split; UCI ready vs. doping at Tour de France; Mexico to meet U.S. in Gold Cup final

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Games 2032: Brisbane ● The Australian national government and the state government of Queensland announced an agreement on the details of the previously-agreed-on A$7.1 billion in spending for infrastructure related to the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games. (A$1 = $0.66 U.S.).

The national government will contribute A$3.435 billion, with A$3.665 coming from Queensland, to build or revamp 17 venues for 2032, with the Australian government to spend A$1.2 billion on the new stadium to be built in Victoria Park.

● Youth Olympic Games: Gangwon 2024 ● The International Olympic Committee announced it would return its 20% share of the small surplus achieved by the organizing committee of the Winter Youth Olympic Games in Gangwon (KOR) last year, which totaled roughly $1.4 million U.S. (1.85 billion Korean won).

Of note was the organizing committee’s revenue of about $55.3 million U.S., of which the IOC reportedly provided $34.1 million. Expenses were about $53.9 million.

● Cycling ● The Union Cycliste Internationale announced a heavy program of doping and cheating controls ahead of the Tour de France, which starts on Saturday.

In addition to 350 out-of-competition doping tests undertaken by the International Testing Agency in the weeks prior to the race, another 600 tests are expected to be done on the 184 riders across the 21 stages of the race, plus enhanced efforts on intelligence gathering.

The UCI will carry out “technological fraud” controls on the bikes used for the Tour, looking primarily for propulsion systems. Bikes will be checked before each stage with magnetic tablets, cheating during races will be monitored by video, and bikes from the race and section leaders will be checked after each stage. Some 192 x-ray checks were conducted in 2024; more than 600 have been made so far during the 2025 UCI World Tour season, up 24% from 2024.

● Football ● Defending champion Mexico defeated Honduras, 1-0, in Santa Clara, California on Wednesday night, advancing to the CONCACAF Gold Cup final against the U.S. on Sunday, in Houston, Texas.

After two team-on-team melees in the 0-0 first half, striker Raul Jimenez scored for Mexico in the 50th minute for the only goal of the game. Closely fought, Mexico controlled 56% of possession and had a 10-6 edge on shots, in front of a huge crowd of 70,975.

This will be the eighth Gold Cup final between the U.S. and Mexico, with Mexico holding a 5-2 edge to date.

● Skating ● The International Skating Union’s first Extraordinary Congress in Lausanne (SUI) approved the revised ISU constitution, which will streamline its structure and processes. A total of 94 of the 98 delegations voted in favor.

Importantly, the new framework also creates an independent Skating Integrity Unit, with responsibility not only for doping, but also for ethics, competition integrity and safeguarding. The Disciplinary Committee will be completely separate. A separate Elections Committee and a committee on financial affairs will also be installed.

A new rule-making process was also adopted, clustering changes into – in theory – only one time in each four-year Olympic cycle, giving more certainty to athletes in their planning and training.

The changes will go into effect after the ISU Congress in June 2026.

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ATHLETICS & CYCLING: Star-laden Diamond League Pre Classic on Saturday in Eugene, as 112th Tour de France starts in Lille

By
Rich Perelman
-
Another win and another world-leading performance from U.S. superstar Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone in Miramar (Photo: Grand Slam Track).

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≡ STARS ON SATURDAY ≡

Olympic-sport fans are looking forward to two exciting events on Saturday, with the one-day Pre Classic track & field meet in Eugene, Oregon and the start of the Tour de France, with another showdown between Slovenian star Tadej Pogacar and Danish champ Jonas Vingegaard eagerly anticipated.

The 112th Tour comes first on the 5th of July, with the start in Lille, in northeastern France, with a full complement of 23 teams and 184 riders. The race is expected to be settled among three stars:

● Tadej Pogacar (SLO): Winner of the Tour in 2020-2021-2024 and second to Vingegaard in 2022 and 2023. At 26, he’s in his prime and the definite favorite, having won his two multi-stage races in 2025, the UAE Tour in February and the Criterium du Dauphine in France in June. He also won four major Classics races in Europe in March and April and was in the top three in all seven of his efforts.

He has the benefit of a superb running mate on his UAE Team Emirates-XRG squad in 2025 Tour de Suisse-Tour de Romandie-Itzulia Basque Country winner Joao Almeida (POR), who would otherwise be among the favorites himself!

● Jonas Vingegaard (DEN): Winner over Pogacar in 2022 and 2023 and second in 2021 and 2024, so between the two, they have been first and second in four straight Tours!

Vingegaard, returning from a bad crash at the Itzulia Basque Country races in 2024 and a concussion during Paris-Nice 2025 in March, says he is healthy, and was second to Pogacar at the Criterium du Dauphine in June. His Team Visma-Lease A Bike is strong, including American stars Matteo Jorgenson and Vuelta a Espana winner Sepp Kuss and 2025 Giro d’Italia winner Simon Yates (GBR).

● Remco Evenepoel (BEL): Last year, Evenepoel dominated at the Paris Olympic Games, winning both the Road Race and the Time Trial! He finished third at the 2024 Tour de France behind Pogacar and Vingegaard, so he knows what he is up against. He also won the 2022 Vuelta a Espana, and has to be considered if either of the two-time champions ahead of him should falter.

The 21 stages of this year’s Tour have most of the climbing stages in the second half of the races, with opportunities for the sprinters early:

● Flat stages (7): 1-3-8-9-11-17-21
● Hilly stages (6): 2-4-6-7-15-20
● Mountain stages (6): 10-12-14-16-18-19
● Individual Time Trials (2): 5-13

The race finale will return to Paris, after skipping 2024 due to the Olympic Games.

NBC has coverage of the Tour, primarily on its Peacock streaming service, with stages shown on NBC on 5-6-20-26-27 July.

The 50th Prefontaine Classic to be held Saturday started out as a fund-raising meet to support the construction of a new western grandstand at Hayward Field, in 1973 and 1974, but renamed after the tragic death of distance icon Steve Prefontaine on 30 May 1975.

Since then, the meet has grown into the top invitational in the U.S. and is the only Diamond League stop in the United States. Nike requires its top athletes to include it on their annual schedules, making it one of the best meets in the world.

The same is true for 2025, with multiple highlight events:

● Men/100 m: Jamaica’s world-leader (9.75) and Olympic silver winner Kishane Thompson vs. world no. 3 (9.84) two-time Worlds bronze winner Trayvon Bromell and 2019 World Champion Christian Coleman.

● Men/200 m: Another showdown between Grand Slam star Kenny Bednarek, the Olympic silver winner, and Paris gold medalist Letsile Tebogo (BOT).

● Men/400 m: Paris Olympic champ Quincy Hall, runner-up Matthew Hudson-Smith (GBR) and bronze winner Muzala Samukonga (ZAM).

● Men/Mile: Olympic 1,500 m winner Cole Hocker and bronzer Yared Nuguse are in, plus world 1,500 m leader Azzedine Habz (FRA), 2019 World Champion Timothy Cheruiyot (KEN), 2022 Worlds winner Jake Wightman (GBR) and even double Olympic bronze medalist Grant Fisher!

● Men/400 m hurdles: Olympic champion (and world leader) Rai Benjamin of the U.S., 2022 World Champion Alison dos Santos (BRA) and 2022 Worlds bronze winner Trevor Bassitt of the U.S.

● Women/100 m: Olympic champ Julien Alfred (LCA), runner-up Sha’Carri Richardson, Grand Slam Track winner Melissa Jefferson-Wooden and world no. 3 Tina Clayton (JAM)!

● Women/400 m: Five of the nine have run in the 49s this season, but can Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone get the American Record of 48.70? She’s going to try.

● Women/1,500 m: Fresh from her “sub-4″ try, Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon may be in for a world-record try here. The Olympic silver (Jess Hull/AUS) and bronze (Georgia Hunter Bell/GBR) will be there too.

● Women/Steeple: The Paris podium is all here: Winfred Yavi (BRN), Tokyo winner Peruth Chemutai (UGA) and Kenyan Faith Cherotich.

● Women/5,000 m: Paris Olympic champion Beatrice Chebet (KEN) and world-record holder Gudaf Tsegay (ETH), among others.

● Women/100 m hurdles: Paris Olympic winner Masai Russell, world-record holder Tobi Amusan (NGR), two-time World Champion Danielle Williams (JAM) and double-Grand Slam winner Ackera Nugent (JAM).

● Women/Long Jump: The Paris Olympic medal winners are all here: Americans Tara Davis-Woodhall (gold) and Jasmine Moore (bronze) and German silver winner Malaika Mihambo.

There’s more, with world-record holder Mondo Duplantis (SWE) in the non-Diamond League men’s vault, American Record-setter and world leader Chase Jackson in the women’s shot and Olympic champ Valarie Allman looking for her 26th straight win in the women’s discus.

Wow!

The meet will be shown live on NBC and Peacock at 4 p.m. Eastern time on Saturday.

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LOS ANGELES 2028: IOC auctioning 2028 Olympic television rights in India; has Lausanne already returned LA28’s favor in adding cricket?

By
Rich Perelman
-
Will the IOC play cricket with LA28 on added TV rights sales in India? (Photo: Wikipedia).

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≡ CRICKET’S 2028 IMPACT ≡

“The sport that the Indian population cherishes the most is cricket. I think we’re here in a place where this is a game-changer not just for India, but it’s also a game-changer for the Olympic Movement.

“Bringing cricket back into the Olympic sports program, basically creates a new cricket competition. So whoever is going to be the winner of that bid will be bringing to the Indian fans, for the first time ever, cricket back into the games. So that’s our historical moment, but it’s also something very special, because the games are not just about will not be just about cricket, but we believe that also, whoever is going to be the media rights holder will also become the catalyst for growth of other Olympic sports around India, and, you know, hopefully inspire young girls and boys in across India to maybe take on, take upon a more active lifestyle and embrace new sports that they may not have known existed before.”

That’s International Olympic Committee Managing Director of Television and Marketing, Anne-Sophie Voumard (SUI), telling Indian television CNBC-TV18 that the IOC is opening the television rights sale for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles for bid.

The rights for Paris 2024 were purchased by Viacom18 for $31 million U.S. and Voumard expects quite a bit more for 2028:

“Because of the vibrancy of the media market in India at the moment, we deliberately chose to open a formal, transparent tender, where we’re going to be inviting everyone with the same conditions. In terms of value we expect, I cannot disclose any value that is confidential information, but the expectation is that the amount will be a multiple of that [$31 million] amount.”

Voumard confirmed that the IOC is talking with Indian companies as potential TOP sponsors, explaining what the Olympic Movement does and how it operates, but also how an Olympic sponsorship can help advance company objectives.

The television bidding process is expected to have bids returned to the IOC by 13 August.

Observed: Figures like $200 million for Indian television rights for 2028 were bandied about when T20 cricket was being discussed as a possible addition to the 2028 Olympic program in Los Angeles.

The LA28 organizers have decided to hold the tournament – with six teams each for men and women – in a temporary facility at the expansive Los Angeles County Fairgrounds in Pomona, California, just northeast of Los Angeles, a complex used to large crowds.

Now, Los Angeles in specific and Southern California in general is not cricket country. The addition of cricket by LA28 as an added sport was essentially a gift to the IOC to allow it to get a deeper relationship with India, a growing international power in sport.

With the sport in for 2028 and sure to be added for Brisbane 2032 – where cricket is big business – will the IOC share some of its increased TV rights with LA28?

They may already have.

The 2028 Host City Contract showed that LA28 would receive $898 million in television rights revenue and from $437-637 million in TOP sponsorship revenue. However, with the loss of Toyota as an IOC sponsor at the end of 2024, the latest LA28 budget shows a TOP sponsorship share back down to $437 million. Not good for LA28.

But, the revised LA28 budget does show an increase in the TV rights share to $948 million, an increase of $50 million. A share of the Indian increase, perhaps?

In truth, if the IOC does receive significantly more for the Indian television rights, it should willingly share half with LA28, because the Los Angeles organizers did them a real favor, not just for 2028, but setting the floor for 2032 and well beyond.

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LOS ANGELES 2028: Huge security funding win for LA28 as $1 billion allocated for Olympic security; also $625 million for the 2026 FIFA World Cup!

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ FROM THE “BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL” ≡

The U.S. Congress completed work Thursday on H.R.1, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which included a huge funding allocation to support the U.S. hosting aspects of the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the hosting of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles.

The funding language was buried deep in the bill, in the section relating to the Department of Homeland Security:

“SEC. 90005. STATE AND LOCAL ASSISTANCE.

“(a) State Homeland Security Grant Programs.

“(1) In general. In addition to amounts otherwise available, there is appropriated to the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency for fiscal year 2025, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to remain available until September 30, 2029, to be administered under the State Homeland Security Grant Program authorized under section 2004 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 605), to enhance State, local, and Tribal security through grants, contracts, cooperative agreements, and other activities:

“(A) $500,000,000 for State and local capabilities to detect, identify, track, or monitor threats from unmanned aircraft systems (as such term is defined in section 44801 of title 49, United States Code), consistent with titles 18 and 49 of the United States Code;

“(B) $625,000,000 for security and other costs related to the 2026 FIFA World Cup;

“(C) $1,000,000,000 for security, planning, and other costs related to the 2028 Olympics; and

“(D) $450,000,000 for the Operation Stonegarden [anti-terrorism] Grant Program.”

The bill is expected to be signed into law on Friday, 4 July, by President Donald Trump.

It is not clear exactly what the World Cup and LA28 Games money can be spent on, but the umbrella is pretty broad, considering it includes “security and other costs” for the American aspects of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and “security, planning and other costs” related to the 2028 Games. So:

● Is this the answer to some of the prayers of the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority, for funding related to spectator transportation for 2028?

● Is this just for security planning and execution, meaning it will really be controlled by the U.S. Secret Service, the lead agency on security for the 2028 Games since it was named as a National Special Security Event (NSSE) in 2024?

No one knows, but this is a major development in the Federal funding of the FIFA World Cup and especially the 2028 Games. A U.S. General Accounting Office report in 2000 described prior Olympic spending, which included:

● For Los Angeles 1984, $50 million (in 1984 dollars) was allocated for security support for the Games and $45 was actually appropriated.

● For Atlanta 1996, the Federal government spent about $609 million (in 1999 dollars) on the Games, including $96 million for safety and security measures ($36 million for the Department of Defense). Most of the money was spent on highway and other infrastructure projects; of the $609 million total, just $17 million was spent on spectator transportation.

● For Salt Lake City 2002, Federal spending of $1.254 billion was planned, with $1 billion for highway and transit infrastructure projects already planned, but accelerated. Spending on the Games for security was expected to cost $161 million, plus $77 million on spectator transportation systems.

The $254 million in Games support costs had ballooned to $342 million by the time of a 2001 GAO update (2001 dollars shown at $341 million due to rounding):

● $185 million for Safety and Security
● $106 million for Transportation
● $27 million for Venue Construction
● $19 million for Staging and Operations
● $4 million for Housing and Infrastructure Support

The security cost went up considerably due to added protections after the terrorist incidents of 11 September 2001.

So, the Federal government has significantly stepped up the funding for 2026 and 2028, with the question now of how it will be spent, when, and by who? And what additional spending will be in the Fiscal Year 2027 and 2028 spending bills?

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TRANSGENDER: Will the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on transgender cases impact the IOC’s “protection of the female category” effort?

By
Rich Perelman
-
The United States Supreme Court (Photo: Wikipedia via the U.S. Capitol).

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≡ U.S. SUPREME COURT TAKES TRANSGENDER CASES ≡

The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari Thursday in two cases involving the rights of transgender girls to play on girls sports teams on school:

● Little v. Hecox is an Idaho District Court case, challenging the state ban – enacted in 2020 – on transgender athletes, in this case at Boise State University, and requirements for sex testing. The law was blocked by the U.S. District Court and the injunction was affirmed by the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in August 2023. The State of Idaho asked for Supreme Court review.

● West Virginia v. B.P.J., an action by a teen transgender girl in middle school against the 2021 West Virginia law banning transgender athletic participation. A U.S. District Court granted a preliminary injunction against the law in 2021, then changed and agreed with the law. The law was stayed on appeal in February 2023 to the U.S. Fourth Circuit, now appealed by West Virginia to the Supreme Court.

Both cases were brought under the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment Equal Protection Clause, and the West Virginia v. B.P.J. case brings in questions concerning possible violation of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which prohibiting discrimination in educational programs.

In June, the Supreme Court ruled, 6-3, in U.S. vs. Skrmetti (23-477) in favor of a Tennessee law banning “gender-affirming care” – puberty blockers and hormone treatments – for transgender minors. Specifically, the majority decided that the Tennessee law does not amount to sex discrimination under the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection clause.

So, the Court will wade into the transgenders-in-sports question which has a reported 27 states with laws banning transgender girls from participating on girls sports teams. Many other states have laws in the opposite direction, including the State of California, which in 2013 adopted AB1266 regarding elementary and secondary schools, which included:

“A pupil shall be permitted to participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, and use facilities consistent with his or her gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil’s records.”

This is an important case and one which will have wide impact, even up to and including the Olympic Movement. However:

● It does not apply to professional sports.
● It does not apply to U.S. National Governing Bodies.

It will, however, have a wide-ranging effect on how transgender cases are looked at, especially with regard to age.

This is critical.

As an example, World Aquatics took the lead among Olympic sports federations, announcing in March 2023 its “Policy on Eligibility for the Men’s and Women’s Competition Categories,” which includes:

“Male-to-female transgender athletes (transgender women) and athletes with 46 XY [differences in sex development] whose legal gender and/or gender identity is female are eligible to compete in the women’s category in World Aquatics competitions and to set World Aquatics World Records in the women’s category in World Aquatics competitions and in other events recognised by World Aquatics if they can establish to World Aquatics’ comfortable satisfaction that they have not experienced any part of male puberty beyond Tanner Stage 2 or before age 12, whichever is later.”

Further:

“[T]he athlete must produce evidence establishing that:

“i. They have complete androgen insensitivity and therefore could not experience male puberty; or

“ii. They are androgen sensitive but had male puberty suppressed beginning at Tanner Stage 2 or before age 12, whichever is later, and they have since continuously maintained their testosterone levels in serum (or plasma) below 2.5 nmol/L.”

Now, however, a push is on for sex screening to determine whether an athlete should be able to compete in the female category. An August 2024 comment in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports explained:

“Today, 25 years later, there is ample evidence that biological sex is a crucial differentiator in ensuring fairness and influencing safety for female athletes. The participation of male-born competitors (e.g., transgender women) and athletes with certain XY DSDs in female sport is a growing concern. These athletes experience male-typical development from testes producing testosterone, with resultant physiological differences creating athletic advantages and safety risks [4–6], even in athletes with XY DSDs who might have been observed as female at birth.

“The ethical failures of sports federations in the past cannot be allowed to obstruct accessible solutions to such an important issue in women’s sport. The ethical framework that governs modern genetic testing is thorough and, importantly to overcome the shortcomings of the past, it emphasizes individual consent, confidentiality, and dignity. Current technology enables a screening procedure for ‘sports sex’ that involves a simple cheek swab to determine sex chromosomes. This screen can be performed reliably and quickly and should be done in duplicate to ensure reliable results.”

The use of a sex-screening test was also promoted in October 2024 by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, Reem Alsalem (JOR):

“In order to ensure, fairness, dignity and safety for all, including females – women and girls, females – we would need to maintain a female-only category in sports, while at the same time also having more ‘open’ categories for those wishing to play sports in categories that do not respond to the sex they were born into.

“That is one thing. The other thing is, as requested by many women and girls in sports, is to bring back – or actually not bring back – is to introduce sex screening, which as you know was discontinued in 1999.

“So that should be sex screening have become a lot more reliable now, cheap, can be administered in a confidential, dignified manner, should be introduced … as an element of – what was that called – eligibility, in female sports.”

It will be against this background that arguments will be made to the U.S. Supreme Court.

But they will also be made in the working group that new International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry (ZIM) promised at her 26 June news conference:

“There was an overwhelming support … that we should protect the female category.

“And with that, we are going to … not revisit, that we’re going to set up a working group, made up of experts and International Federations. It was agreed by the members that the IOC should take a leading role in this, and that we should be the ones to bring together the experts, bring together the International Federations, and ensure that we find consensus.

“We understand that there will be differences, depending on the sport, but it was fully agreed that, as members and as the IOC, we should make the effort to place emphasis on the protection of the female category and that we should ensure that this is done in consensus with all the stakeholders.”

The IOC typically does not move swiftly in these matters, preferring lots of consultation and discussion. The Supreme Court, on the other hand, takes cases with a timeline clearly in mind, with a decision to be issued by the end of June in 2026.

Will Coventry’s own timetable now be shaped to allow the Supreme Court to have its say on the matter, as one more element to be considered in the IOC’s own policy?

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FOOTBALL: “Moonman” Luna scores two in 2-1 U.S. Gold Cup semi win over Guatemala; U.S. women shut down Canada, 3-0

By
Rich Perelman
-
U.S. men’s scoring star Diego Luna (Photo: U.S. Soccer on X).

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≡ U.S. MEN AND WOMEN WIN ≡

In the opening semifinal of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the U.S. men tangled with upset-minded Guatemala in very warm – 88 F – conditions in St. Louis, in front of a highly pro-Guatemalan crowd.

And the energetic Guatemalans started on offense, but the first significant foray for the U.S. turned into a goal in the fourth minute, as midfielder Luca de la Torre’s shot from the top of the box was saved by Guatemalan keeper Kenderson Navarro. But his punch rebounded right in front of the net, where forward Diego Luna stopped it, controlled it and slammed home a left-footed shot to the far side of the net for a 1-0 lead.

Luna struck again in the 15th, taking the ball above the box, using a step-over to the right to create space and then burying a right-footed rocket just inside the left post of the Guatemalan goal. 2-0.

Not surprisingly, Guatemala got busy and had multiple shots at U.S. keeper Matt Freese and striker Rubio Rubin scored in the 29th, but was called for offsides. Rubin sent another shot at the corner of the net in the 34th, but Freese saved it. Freese had to make two more saves in the 44th and 45th on Guatemalan charges in the box. The half ended with the U.S. at 52% possession, but only six shots to 15 for Guatemala.

Guatemala came out with energy in the second half, desperately seeking a goal, but the U.S. maintained good energy and had some chances as well, especially for striker Patrick Anyemang.

Finally, Guatemala’s pressure paid off with a right-footed strike from the center of the box by sub midfielder Olger Escobar, who took the ball in the box from substitute striker Arquimides Ordonoez, to close to 2-1 in the 80th.

With the pro-Guatemala crowd roaring, the U.S. defense held, and Freese saved a seeing-eye shot from the top of the box by defender Jose Morales in the 92nd. The Guatemalan pressure in the second half meant the visitors finished with 51% of possession and a 20-12 shots edge.

It’s the 13th Gold Cup final for the U.S., in the 18th edition. Mexico and Honduras followed with the second semi, in Santa Clara, California later on Wednesday. The final will be at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, on 6 July at 7 p.m. local time.

The U.S. women, following up on two straight 4-0 wins over Ireland, faced Canada in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, and continued a strong run of first-half scoring, in warm (84 F) and humid (61%) conditions, starting just a half-hour after the men!

The U.S. was up by 2-0 in both of the Ireland games, and forward Sam Coffey put the U.S. up in the 17th on a right-footer shot from the middle of the box, off of a loose ball off of defender Avery Patterson – standing right next to her – on a dramatic free kick from beyond the box by midfield star Rose Lavelle.

Then, Claire Hutton got her first international goal in the 36th off a header from another perfect corner kick into the middle of the box from Lavelle. The half ended 2-0 – for the third straight match – with the U.S. at 62% possession and with an 8-5 lead on shots.

The U.S. continued on offense in the second half, taking the first eight shots, through the 65th minute, but no more goals. Finally, in the 89th, it was sub defender Tara McKeown with a pass to an open sub striker Yazmeen Ryan got to open space and smashed a left-footer into the net for the third goal.

U.S. keeper Claudia Dickey got the shut-out, saving Canadian sub striker Nichelle Prince’s on-line shot at 90+2. The Americans finished at 66% of possession and an impressive 22-7 shots edge, including 14-2 in the second half.

That’s five wins in a row for the women’s national team, with a combined score of 18-0!

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ATHLETICS: Belt-tightening at USA Track & Field continues, as top staff continue exits; USATF also sues ex-Chair Mike Conley!

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ INSIDE USATF ≡

As the tumult of the 2024 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials and the 2024 Olympic Games subsided, a half-dozen long-time USA Track & Field staff members were let go or left, including events manager and chief of content Adam Schmenk and two other key event staff.

In January of this year, Chief Communications Officer Aarti Parekh and long-time Chief of Athlete Services and International Teams Aretha Thurmond – and others – exited. In June, Communications Manager Natalie Uhl moved on to TrackTown USA after almost four years in Indianapolis.

Also in June, the LA28 organizing committee hired Michael Nussa, the USATF General Manager of High Performance and a former assistant coach at Tulane, as the sport manager for track & field for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Nussa joined USATF as the High Performance Programs Manager in August 2018 and had been promoted to head the High Performance division in February of 2025.

A close observer told The Sports Examiner that as many as 17 of the 95 employees USATF had as of the start of 2024 had left or been terminated. And not replaced.

Amy Begley, a 2008 Olympian in the women’s 10,000 m and a five-time national champion, joined USATF in September 2023 as the Director of Long Distance Running Programs, was promoted to replace Nussa, now covering both track & field and long-distance.

In 2024, USATF staged three branded “Journey to Gold” meets, the April Bermuda Grand Prix, the Los Angeles Grand Prix in May and the NYC Grand Prix in June. All three were canceled for 2025, with the Bermuda Tourism Authority deciding not to continue its support, and USATF saying in a statement it was not the organizer of the New York meet. The L.A. meet was canceled without notice or comment.

Why the contractions?

Money.

This is the carnage which has followed the difficult finances of USA Track & Field since 2022, when it provided a long-promised $9.9 million subsidy to the 2022 World Athletics Championships organizers in Eugene, Oregon.

The federation’s financial statements detail the drop in USATF’s net assets:

● 2021: $8.53 million
● 2022: $548,002
● 2023: –$4.93 million

That’s a loss of $13.46 million from 31 December 2021 to 31 December 2023, and a negative net worth.

Just as alarming is that revenues have remained – since the start of the landmark, 20-year Nike sponsorship agreement came into effect in 2014 – essentially static:

● 2014: $35.05 million
● 2015: $30.40 million
● 2016: $38.43 million
● 2017: $33.67 million
● 2018: $36.71 million
● 2019: $37.24 million
● 2020: $23.30 million (Covid impact)
● 2021: $35.52 million
● 2022: $36.54 million
● 2023: $36.71 million

If inflation is taken into account, the situation is even worse. One dollar in 2014 is worth about $1.36 today, so the $35.05 million revenue from 2014 represents $47.67 million in 2025 (+36.0%). But USATF revenue has advanced by just 4.7% over the 10 years.

USATF does not usually publish its financial statements until the end of the following year, so no public reporting on 2024 has been made. But knowledgeable sources have told The Sports Examiner:

(1) USATF suffered a loss in 2024 as well.

(2) The October 2024 agreement to absorb Paralympic track & field into USATF as of 1 January 2025 will provide a $3.7 million boost from the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, against which $3.2 million is expected to be spent.

And the new Board of Directors, with new Chair Curt Clausen, the 1999 Worlds 50 km Walk bronze medalist, is taking a much more active role in reviewing, guiding and trying to rebuild the finances of the federation.

And that means less people and fewer meets, at a time when hopes are high to use the upcoming 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles as a boost for the sport.

However, USATF has not been completely on the defensive, filing an 18 June 2025 complaint against former Board Chair Mike Conley, the 1992 Olympic triple jump gold medalist, for breach of fiduciary duty during his time as Chair.

The action arises from the November 2023 complaint against USA Track & Field filed by former USATF staff member and Board member Jim Estes, whose consulting role with the Chattanooga Sports Commission bidding for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials led to the disqualification of the Chattanooga bid and the awarding of the event to Orlando, Florida. This action (Marion (Ind.) County Superior Court/Civil Division cause no.: 49D01-2309-CT-034614) is continuing. 

The USATF complaint against Conley alleges:

“communications between Conley and Estes [that] indicate a high level of coordination and collusion between them, in direct contravention of Conley’s ethical and legal obligations to USATF while Chairman of its Board of Directors.

“Equally troubling is Conley’s ongoing refusal in the litigation discovery process to
comply with USATF’s request for documents and communications relevant to Estes’ lawsuit. Conley’s refusal to comply with USATF’s document requests has impeded USATF’s ability to defend itself in the ongoing litigation and risks subjecting USATF to potential sanctions by the Court. As of the date of the filing of this Third-Party Complaint, Conley still has not provided USATF with any documents and communications relevant to these legal proceedings.”

Further, that “Conley was actively feeding Estes information regarding internal management and Board discussions related to USATF and USOPC’s ongoing investigation of Estes.”

USATF also alleges that Conley is continuing to refuse to cooperate with the provision of information in his possession relayed to the Estes case. So the prayer states:

● “USATF suffered, and continues to suffer, significant monetary, reputational, and legal procedural harm and damage as a direct result of Conley’s prior and continuing breach of his fiduciary duties.

● “WHEREFORE, the Third-Party Plaintiff USATF prays that the Court enter judgment in its favor and against Third Party Defendant Michael Conley, and award USATF all damages, prejudgment interest, costs, attorneys’ fees, and all other appropriate relief as is just and proper.”

The Estes vs. USATF case is still in discovery, so it’s not close to trial, and Conley’s cooperation will be important, so this new filing is going to push Estes’ action back. This is sad, and not close to over.

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PANORAMA: Why Kipyegon ran 4:06.42 “and” 4:06.91 on her sub-4 try; Grand Slam Track schedules athlete payments; modest Club World Cup attendance

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Athletics ● The mystery over the “official” time of 4:06.42 for Kenyan star Faith Kipyegon at the Nike “Breaking4″ event and the shown 4:06.91 event time was explained by Runner’s World.

The 4:06.91 time was the standard measurement of the time from the firing of the starter’s pistol to the time that Kipyegon crossed the finish line. The 4:06.42 time is a “chip time” from when Kipyegon actually began her race effort, to the time she finished.

This is seen often in mass road races, where some runners do not cross the start line for quite a while, but not in something as short as a mile. But now you know.

The Times of London reported on an e-mail message from Grand Slam Track Senior Director of Racing Kyle Merber sent to athlete agents on Tuesday (1st) concerning appearance and prize-money fees owed to athletes who competed in the Kingston, Miramar and Philadelphia Slams:

“We’d like to provide the following update regarding payments for the athletes who competed in Grand Slam Track events this year. Our plan is to make payments for Kingston prize money before the end of July and the remaining payments due by the end of September, which includes the honoring of Los Angeles appearance fees.”

The final meet, scheduled for UCLA’s Drake Stadium in Los Angeles for 28-29 June, was canceled over financial concerns, despite more than 10,000 tickets being sold for the two days combined, with more than two weeks to go.

● Football ● Much attention continues to be paid to the attendance figures at the FIFA Club World Cup, with the first round of playoff matches completed.

The group stage had 1,667,819 in attendance across 48 matches for an average of 34,746.

For the eight Round-of-16 playoff matches, Inside World Football offered a table showing 342,006 in attendance for an average of 63.28% of capacity (550,744). Of the eight matches:

● 2 had from 20-26,000
● 2 had from 30-35,000
● 1 had from 40-45,000
● 3 had from 60-65,000

OK, not great. Eight matches are left.

The U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated the guilty verdicts against former Fox International Channels head Hernan Lopez and Full Play Group SA dealing with television rights, wire fraud and money laundering for multiple major football tournaments, including the FIFA World Cup and Copa Libertadores. Full Play was also convicted on charges related to Olympic qualifying matches and the Copa America tournament.

All of the convictions had been thrown out in September 2023 by District Judge Pamela Chen (Eastern District of New York), citing a May 2023 U.S. Supreme Court decision. But the appeals court ordered her to reinstate the convictions and to continue the proceedings in line with their opinion.

Lopez’s attorney promised to continue their appeals.

● Swimming ● The ancient suit by U.S. swimmers Michael Andrew and Tom Shields and Hungarian star Katinka Hosszu against World Aquatics (then FINA) for restrictions of trade over a planned 2018 meet in Italy, will apparently come to trial at the U.S. District Court in San Francisco, California beginning on 12 January 2026.

World Aquatics has energetically opposed the suit and it appears to be thrown out at one point, but a September 2024 ruling by the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held the matter to be sufficient to be tried.

● Table Tennis ● After the disruption, screaming and shouting that caused the International Table Tennis Federation’s Annual General Meeting in March to be suspended, the ITTF is obligated to convene the meeting once again to finish voting on several offices. On Wednesday, the federation noted:

“Given the complexity of this situation, the ITTF engaged a leading law firm to ensure the continuation of the AGM is managed in full compliance with ITTF statutes and Swiss law, where the federation is headquartered. The date and details of the AGM’s continuation will be announced as soon as possible.”

It can be expected that at the re-convened meeting, a continued challenge to the Presidential vote will be made. ITTF Senior Executive Vice President Khalil Al-Mohannadi, the loser in the election by 104-102, has already announced an appeal to the ITTF Tribunal and to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

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MILAN CORTINA 2026: NHL player participation in 2026 Olympic Winter Games finalized

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ NHL PLAYERS RETURN ≡

After missing the 2018 PyeongChang and 2022 Beijing Winter Games, National Hockey League players will return to the Olympic play at Milan Cortina 2026 under an agreement signed on Wednesday in Zurich (SUI).

NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly explained multiple points of the deal with the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), International Olympic Committee and the NHL Players’ Association:

● “There were a bunch of issues that are typically dealt with between the NHL, the IIHF and the IOC that needed to be dealt with, and we ultimately got those done. We’re thrilled. It’s all good.”

● “I think we broke new ground a little bit in terms of our commercial rights associated with the Olympics, use of the integrated marks and content capture that we probably haven’t had in the past. I think those are all advances in terms of what we’re doing. We will have the ability to utilize Olympic content in a different and better way than we have in the past.”

● “I know that’s been speculated on by others in the media that it would be some hybrid [on ice size]. No, it’s 200 by 85 [feet]. I think that will be the case going forward as well.”

The agreement also included protocols for player accommodations in the Olympic Village, arrangements for one guest per player, injury insurance, and for the NHL’s role in tournament operations. The NHL will also have options to purchase additional tickets and reserve added accommodations.

As for the future, there was no guarantee of participation at French Alps 2030, but Daly said:

“We have every intention of going to 2030. We expect to be there, but for better or worse that’s a whole different negotiation.”

NHL players first participated in the Winter Games at Nagano 1998 and have played in five Winter Games – 1998-2002-06-10-14 – with Canada winning three times, Sweden once and the Czech Republic once.

The 12 teams to compete in Milan have been confirmed and placed into three pools:

● Group A: Canada, Switzerland, Czech Rep., France
● Group B: Finland, Sweden, Slovakia, Italy
● Group C: United States, Germany, Latvia, Denmark

Ice hockey will be played at the new Palaitalia Santa Giulia arena with some preliminary matches at the temporary Milano Rho arena.

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PANORAMA: Int’l Testing Agency did 44,400+ tests in 2025, saw 532 positives; tragic father-son doping incident; Cal gets $26M endowment for swimming!

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● International Testing Agency ● The ITA announced its 2024 results, including significant increases – in an Olympic year – for testing:

● “In 2024, more than 44,400 samples were collected from over 17,200 athletes from 216 countries and at over 1,100 international sports events, marking a 10% increase in testing volume compared to 2023.”

● “Reports submitted via the ITA’s confidential platform REVEAL [1,042] rose by 68% in 2024, marking a significant increase in actionable intelligence received by the organisation.”

● “The ITA also evaluated and processed 532 potential anti-doping rule violations (ADRVs).”

The number of nations tested was way up: 216 vs. 185 in 2023, with 55% collected out-of-competition and 45% in-competition. Testing by sex remained constant at 65 male and 35% female.

In terms of the violations:

“Of the 532 potential ADRVs managed in 2024, 232 led to sanctions, 105 are ongoing, and 181 were reviewed but not pursued as ADRVs. Additionally, the ITA reviewed 827 Whereabouts Failures, of which 437 were recorded, 77 were referred to NADOs, and 313 were dismissed after explanation.”

● Anti-Doping ● A terrible case of in-family doping, reported by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency:

“After receiving information from a whistleblower, USADA initiated an investigation that uncovered evidence demonstrating that Michael Vowell, 49, administered his own prescription testosterone gel to his minor child, Seth Vowell, 16, at the 2023 USA Track & Field Junior Olympic Cross-Country Championships on December 10, 2023.”

The steroid testosterone has been banned for decades, and the penalties were severe:

“Michael Vowell’s actions constituted anti-doping rule violations for possession of a prohibited substance, administration of a prohibited substance, and complicity. He accepted a lifetime period of ineligibility for his violations. Based on the circumstances of the case, Seth Vowell qualified for a reduced two-year period of ineligibility for his testosterone use anti-doping rule violation.”

● Archery ● USA Archery named a veteran Recurve team for the World Archery Championships in Gwangju (KOR) in September, including all three Paris women’s Olympians: 2021 Worlds runner-up Casey Kaufhold, Catalina GNoriega and Jennifer Mucino-Fernandez.

Five-time Olympic medalist and 2019 World Champion Brady Ellison leads the U.S. men’s Recurve team, along with 19-year-old Christian Stoddard and Trenton Cowles.

James Lutz, the 2024 World Cup Final Compound winner, leads the American Compound squad, with first-time Worlds Team members Curtis Broadnax and Jesse Clayton. Alexis Ruiz, a Mixed Team winner at the 2023 Worlds, leads the women’s Compound squad with Olivia Dean and Sydney Sullenberger.

● Athletics ● A new world outdoor lead for Tokyo Olympic co-champ Katie Moon of the U.S., who cleared 4.83 m (15-10) at the Maximum Velocity Born to Run Invitational in Chula Vista, California last Sunday.

U.S. sprinter Celera Barnes, the 2025 U.S. Indoor 60 m champ, won the women’s 100 m in a swift 10.79, but with over-the-allowable wind of 2.5 m/s.

The Athletics Integrity Unit posted its sanctions list for June, with 19 listings: seven Kenyans, six from India, two from France and one each from Brazil, Turkey, New Zealand and Nigeria.

Kenya and India continue to be the most sanctioned countries by the AIU, with no actions taken against either as yet.

● Football ● In view of the high temperatures and lightning delays at some FIFA Club World Cup matches in the U.S., British Columbia Premier David Eby said he has written to FIFA that Vancouver would be happy to take on additional matches if FIFA wanted to move some for the FIFA World Cup in 2026.

Vancouver’s B.C. Place and BMO Field in Toronto are the Canadian venues for 2026; three venues in Mexico will be used and 11 in the U.S.

● Swimming ● One of the best ways to assure the future of an in-danger university sports program is an endowment. The storied swimming, diving and water polo programs at Cal are apparently safe now, thanks to a $26 million commitment from Ned and Carol Spieker; Ned played water polo at Cal and became a titan in commercial property.

It’s the third program at Cal to be endowed, joining men’s and women’s golf, and rugby.

● Volleyball ● The Cuban Volleyball Federation said that the U.S. denied visa applications for the Cuban women’s national team to play in the NORCECA Final Four tournament in Manati, Puerto Rico from 16-21 July.

The Associated Press reported the federation “said last week that the team, comprising 12 athletes, a referee, and several coaches, had their visa request denied and will be unable to attend the tournament.”

The Trump Administration’s proclamation of 4 June 2025 directed the U.S. State Dept. to “partially restrict and limit the entry of nationals” from seven countries, including Cuba and eliminated entry from 12 others.

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SAFESPORT: Annual report for 2024 shows Center for SafeSport made an actual violations decision on just 11.7% of all cases, all-time

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ SAFESPORT ANNUAL REPORT ≡

/Updated/The U.S. Center for SafeSport issued its 2024 annual report on Monday, two months after chief executive Ju’Riese Colon was dismissed, and demonstrated why so much concern has been voiced over the performance of the Congressionally-created organization in 2017.

On page 20 and 21 are tables which detail the number of reports coming into the Center and what happens to them:

● The number of reports from the Center’s opening in 2017 through the end of 2024 was 32,238, with significant increases to the highest levels ever coming in the past three years:

● 2022: 5,687
● 2023: 7,533
● 2024: 8,098

The 2020 total, influenced by the Covid-19 pandemic, was 2,310, rising to 3,708 in 2021.

● After a rearrangement of outcome categories in 2024, the breakdown of what happened demonstrates the frustration with the Center for those who reported potential abuse. Out of a total of 24,636 cases (not reports) – no timeframe was given, so this may be from the start of the Center in 2017 – the outcomes included:

● 7,610 (30.9%): jurisdiction declined
● 4,734 (19.2%): no jurisdiction
● 1,120 (4.5%): jurisdictional hold

● 5,716 (23.2%): administrative hold
● 2,583 (10.5%): administrative closure

● 2,654 (10.8%): violation found
● 214 (0.9%): no violation found

So, the Center was only able to come to an actual, on-the-merits decision in 11.7% of the cases submitted, finding either a violation or that no violation had occurred.

Of the other 88.3% of cases, 50.1% were declined or the Center decided it had no jurisdiction and it held or placed on “administrative closure” on 38.2% of all cases.

(Please see further below for the Center’s response to these calculations.)

What the tables in the report do not say is how long it took to resolve cases, which have dragged on for years in some instances. Moreover, those making reports and National Governing Bodies have loudly complained that they have not received information on the disposition of most cases – as shown by the statistics – especially those which were held or had “administrative closure.”

That’s a total of 38.2% or 9,419 cases “held” in some way by the Center in total. There can be little doubt why the frustration level, as expressed in both House and Senate committee hearings in March 2024, with SafeSport has been so high.

Former NWSL soccer player Mana Shim, now Chair of the U.S. Soccer Federation Participant Safety Task Force, told the House subcommittee hearing:

● “First, we need increased transparency by SafeSport. The lack of information sharing is standing in the way of protecting athletes from abuse. If SafeSport does not share information about the allegations it receives, its investigative process, or any findings it might make, we cannot develop an understanding of what appropriate safety measures can and should be instituted.”

● “Second, we need to limit the number of SafeSport investigations that end in administrative closure. Administrative closure is when SafeSport closes a matter without any findings, resolution on the merits, sanctions, or public record of the allegations.

“The administrative closure process leaves parties in limbo indefinitely or, worse, allows sexual predators to fall through the cracks and remain in the sport without restriction. This problem is made worse by the sheer volume of cases SafeSport ‘resolves’ in this manner. In soccer, approximately 89% of all cases involving sexual misconduct with no criminal disposition are administratively closed.”

● “Third, we need to ensure that U.S. Soccer and other NGBs can take action when SafeSport does not. When SafeSport administratively closes a matter, it maintains exclusive jurisdiction. If an NGB like U.S. Soccer tries to take any sort of action to protect athletes, SafeSport will report them to Congress and initiate an investigation against the NGB. We believe that NGBs should be allowed to take some form of action in cases following an administrative closure so they can ensure abuse does not occur in the future.”

When the Center did make a decision on the merits, only 5.5% were appealed arbitration (89 of 1,614), and 83% of those ended with a confirmation of a violation.

Where the Center has acted, it had 2,224 individuals on its Centralized Disciplinary Database as of the end 2024, with 90.4% classified as ineligible for a specified time period, or permanently ineligible. The remainder were on suspensions or other restrictions.

/Update/ The Center for SafeSport’s Vice President/External Affairs, Hilary Nemchik, took exception to the above calculations; her comment is reprinted for the benefit of our readers:

“We caught your column on the Center’s annual report and wanted to request correction on some misleading information:

● “The presentation of data on cases where the Center makes a finding based on merits misleads readers and dominates the headline. You’ll note that 4,734 cases end up being outside of our jurisdiction, that we declined 7,610 discretionary cases to NGBs, and that 1,120 are on hold pending someone’s reentry into the Movement, that leaves 11,172 cases from which the Center makes a finding or no finding of a violation. Can you please correct your calculation?

● “You state ‘That’s a total of 38.2% or 9,419 cases ‘held’ in some way by the Center in total.’ That is inaccurate. The Center bifurcated outcomes into ‘administrative holds’ and ‘administrative closures’ to provide more clarity as part of wide-ranging process changes announced in April of 2024, and for the first time has provided detail as to the numbers behind the specific reasons for these outcomes. This new data on the reasons for these holds and closures is absent from the piece and provides important context. Your calculation includes 2,583 administrative closures, which are cases that are not being ‘held’ and are considered closed absent extraordinary circumstances. Importantly, this report outlines for the first time the number of ‘admonishments’ under the administrative closure category (1,476) which do not constitute a finding, but do put individuals on notice.”

In terms of finances, SafeSport had $25.24 million in revenues in 2024, with $20.00 million from the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee and $2.93 million in Federal grants accounting for 90.8% of the total. Expenses were $23.43 million, so there was a net surplus of $1.81 million. The Center showed $17.80 million in net assets.

Colon’s situation became untenable due to an investigator being hired despite knowledge of questionable or even criminal actions in his prior employment (he was indicted on criminal charges in Pennsylvania). But she told both the House and Senate subcommittees in 2024 that the Center would need $30 million in annual funding to keep up with the expanding caseload.

SafeSport is well short of that figure, and its yearly report can only be cause for concern, especially for claimants and National Governing Bodies, who see reports going in, but very little action coming out.

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TRANSGENDER: U.S. Education Dept. announces agreement with Penn, with records removed and no transgenders allowed on women’s teams

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ PENN RESOLVES TITLE IX SUIT ≡

“UPenn has agreed both to apologize for its past Title IX violations and to ensure that women’s sports are protected at the University for future generations of female athletes.”

That’s from a Tuesday announcement by U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, which specified the six steps Penn will take going forward:

● “UPenn will restore to female athletes all individual UPenn Division I swimming records, titles, or similar recognitions which were misappropriated by male athletes allowed to compete in female categories;

● “UPenn will issue a public statement to the University community stating that it will comply with Title IX, specifying that UPenn will not allow males to compete in female athletic programs or occupy Penn Athletics female intimate facilities;

● The statement will specify that UPenn will adopt biology-based definitions for the words ‘male’ and ‘female’ pursuant to Title IX and consistent with President Trump’s Executive Orders ‘Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism’ and ‘Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports’;

● “UPenn will post the statement in a prominent location on its main website and on each of its websites for women’s athletics;

● “UPenn will rescind any guidance which violated Title IX, remove or revise any internal and public-facing statements or documents that are inconsistent with Title IX, and notify all staff and women’s athletics of all such rescissions; and

● “UPenn will send a personalized letter of apology to each impacted female swimmer.”

This is all about the Lia Thomas case, in which the former Will Thomas, a former men’s swimmer at Penn, transitioned to female and joined the Penn women’s team, became a national star, winning three Ivy League title and the 2022 NCAA women’s 500-yard title, plus All-American honors in the 200-yard Free and 100-yard Free.

The Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights opened an inquiry into Penn’s actions in allowing Thomas to compete as a woman. Per the Department:

“On April 28, OCR concluded in its investigation that UPenn violated Title IX. OCR issued a proposed Resolution Agreement to voluntarily resolve its Title IX violations or risk referral to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) for enforcement proceedings, which UPenn signed today.”

University of Pennsylvania President Dr. J. Larry Jameson said in a statement, “This is a complex issue, and I am pleased that we were able to reach a resolution through the standard OCR process for concluding Title IX investigations,” and added:

“Penn has always followed – and continues to follow – Title IX and the applicable policy of the NCAA regarding transgender athletes. NCAA eligibility rules changed in February 2025 with Executive Orders 14168 and 14201 and Penn will continue to adhere to these new rules.”

It is noteworthy that the agreement announced today was not joined by the Ivy League or the NCAA, in whose championships Thomas starred in 2022.

Former Penn swimmer Paula Scanlan said in the statement:

“As a former UPenn swimmer who had to compete against and share a locker room with a male athlete, I am deeply grateful to the Trump Administration for refusing to back down on protecting women and girls and restoring our rightful accolades. I am also pleased that my alma mater has finally agreed to take not only the lawful path, but the honorable one.”

The Education Department has also been pursuing cases elsewhere, including against the California Interscholastic Federation, for allowing a high school transgender athlete to compete at the California State Track & Field Championships.

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LANE ONE: An Olympic city is at war, with Los Angeles fighting against itself, and now with Washington, D.C.

By
Rich Perelman
-
The Los Angeles City Hall, a 1928 Art Deco downtown icon (Photo: Tim Ahem via Wikipedia)

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≡ LOS ANGELES IN TURMOIL ≡

What has happened to Los Angeles?

A career Democrat legislator in California and the U.S. House of Representatives, Karen Bass, was elected Mayor of Los Angeles in 2022 by 55-45% over billionaire developer Rick Caruso, with the main focus on rampant homelessness across the city.

While making some inroads on the homelessness problem, the world that Bass and Los Angeles lived in was turned inside out:

● November 2024: Republican Donald Trump swept the national Presidential election, and along with Republican majorities in the Congress changed the national political calculus for California and Los Angeles, both with substantial majorities of Democratic voters.

● January 2025: Devastating, wind-blown wildfires destroyed much of the Palisades area of Los Angeles and large parts of Altadena, a separate town northeast of L.A.’s downtown, between 7-31 January.

● May 2025: The City’s financial difficulties were highlighted, with a projected $1 billion budget deficit for the 2025-26 fiscal year, leading to hundreds of layoffs. On 24 June, the City Council declared a “fiscal emergency” even though it approved a $14.1 billion budget, up from $12.9 billion for 2024-25.

● June 2025: A series of round-ups by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, resulted in mass demonstrations in downtown Los Angeles and elsewhere, that turned into riots in the downtown area, resulting in the deployment of the California National Guard and even a small number of U.S. Marines by the Trump Administration to protect Federal property and ICE agents. Between 6-15 June, the Los Angeles Police Department made 575 arrests, mostly for failure to disperse and looting.

Hardly tranquil. None of this directly impacted the work of the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic organizing committee, working on the planning of both Games. But the chaos around the Games continued:

● On 14 May, the City Council approved a four-stage, mandatory minimum-wage increase for workers at hotels within the City of 60 or more rooms and for those working at Los Angeles International Airport to $22.50 per hour in July 2025, $25.00 in July 2026, $27.50 in July 2027, and $30.00 in July 2028. This was dubbed the “Olympic wage” for its $30 minimum to be installed just two weeks prior to the 2028 Olympic opening, but was vigorously criticized by business groups, noting the local tourism business has not even rebounded to pre-pandemic levels.

● On 27 June, a coalition of airlines, hotels, tourism and other business groups submitted more than 140,000 signatures on a petition to place the “Olympic wage” ordinance on the June 2026 municipal ballot. A total of 92,998 valid signatures are required and the Interim City Clerk announced:

“As a result of the filing of the referendum petition, Ordinance No. 188610 is suspended and will not take effect while the petition is being reviewed to determine if it contains a sufficient number of valid voter signatures.”

So, the July 2025 wage increase to $27.50 did not take place today. Labor groups decried the signature-gathering effort as invalid and have asked for the referendum effort to be thrown out.

But the ordinance may come up for a vote on 2 June 2026 in what promises to be an ugly labor vs. business showdown, and on the same ballot that the mayoral primary will be held. Bass is already a declared candidate; Caruso may also run again, but has not committed yet.

On top of all this, the Federal government is turning up the heat in Los Angeles:

● Last Thursday, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy sent a harsh letter to Bass concerning the ICE protests and riots, where people could not access public transit as stations were shut due to the violence. Included was this:

“The weak leadership you have shown in these critical times does not inspire confidence in your ability to represent one of the Nation’s largest cities as it hosts one of the world’s biggest events, the FIFA World Cup 2026 and the LA 2028 Summer Olympics (collectively, the LA games), where millions from around the globe are expected to visit Los Angeles. Based on your slow action to quell the riots, the Department of Transportation is deeply concerned about your ability to keep the commuting public safe and to handle the transportation logistics needed for the LA
games.”

● On Monday, the U.S. Justice Department chimed in:

“Today, the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, and the Los Angeles City Council over policies that Los Angeles enacted shortly after President Donald J. Trump’s reelection to interfere with the federal government’s enforcement of its immigration laws.

“Not only are Los Angeles’s ‘sanctuary city’ policies illegal under federal law, but, as alleged in the complaint, Los Angeles’s refusal to cooperate with federal immigration authorities contributed to the recent lawlessness, rioting, looting, and vandalism that was so severe that it required the federal government to deploy the California National Guard and the United States Marines to quell the chaos.”

This follows similar actions against “sanctuary” laws in New York and New Jersey, and is not related to the 2028 Games at all.

And none of these actions, disasters, lawsuits and more would be newsworthy for The Sports Examiner is they weren’t happening in the Olympic host city for the Games of the XXXIV Olympiad in 2028.

But they are.

New International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry (ZIM) was asked about the L.A. situation in her news conference last week, and cited the commitment the IOC has repeatedly received from all levels of government for the success of the Games.

Where does all of this go?

Observed: As someone who lived most of my life in Los Angeles, the turmoil of the last decade, and especially the damage that the harshly-imposed conditions of the Covid-19 pandemic caused, has been depressing.

It’s clear now that the Trump Administration has made California – and Los Angeles – one of its prime targets in its legal and political policy initiatives and this will continue to play out over time. In that sense, the 2028 Games are still pretty far away, and the Secret Service is already involved in the long-lead security planning for the event, in coordination with local law enforcement.

But the Duffy letter gave the barest hint of a possible view that aspects of the Games which are up to the public authorities may be better planned, managed, coordinated or even handled by the Federal government and not by those already in Southern California.

No one is saying anything yet. But as Trump himself has said that the Federal government will do everything in its power to ensure the success of the 2028 Games, it would be unwise to doubt that resources will be brought in … but in a manner and time of the administration’s choosing.

The LA28 organizers are not yet being directly impacted by this; they haven’t put on any events and won’t until 2027. But they are going to be, as business, labor, the City and the Trump Administration continue to clash, with no end in sight.

As Engineer Montgomery Scott memorably said to Dr. Gillian Taylor in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home:

“Hold on tight, lassie. lt gets bumpy from here.”

Rich Perelman
Editor

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MEMORABILIA: Paris gold and torch offered together, three Louganis medals available among 67 Olympic medals up for bid from RR Auction

By
Rich Perelman
-
An Olympic gold and an Olympic torch offered together? Yes, at RR Auction. (Photos: RR Auction).

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A sponsored post by RR Auction.

Auctions of Olympic memorabilia often offer Olympic medals and Olympic torches, but it’s unheard of to offer a package of both in the same lot.

RR Auction’s latest program, which closes on 17 July, has them both, in lot 3120, including a Paris 2024 Olympic torch, a Paris 2024 Olympic gold medal from track & field and an athlete-edition Games poster, given to the medal winners on the victory stand.

The estimated sale price is $75,000, with bidding already at $12,100 with more than two weeks to go.

The newest Olympic offer from RR Auction also includes three of the five Olympic medals won by superstar diver Greg Louganis:

● $20,000: 1976 Montreal Olympic silver 10 m Platform ( 6 bids so far)
● $35,000: 1984 Los Angeles Olympic gold 3 m Springboard (6)
● $25,000: 1988 Seoul Olympic gold 10 m Platform (10)

These medals have been offered before, primarily in fund-raising forums, but are now presented to serious Olympic memorabilia collectors. Not on auction are Louganis’ Olympic golds for the 1984 Platform and 1988 Springboard titles.

There is an impressive array of 67 Olympic medals being offered all together, including 25 more with a projected sales estimate of $10,000 or more:

● $40,000: 2006 Turin Winter gold for ice hockey
● $30,000: 1964 Tokyo Olympic gold for fencing
● $30,000: 2020 Tokyo Olympic silver for judo
● $30,000: 2024 Paris Olympic bronze for canoeing
● $25,000: 1904 St. Louis Olympic bronze for tug-of-war
● $25,000: 1908 London Olympic gold for field hockey
● $25,000: 1932 Los Angeles Olympic gold, with box
● $25,000: 1964 Innsbruck Winter gold for speed skating
● $20,000: 1920 Antwerp Olympic gold for shooting
● $20,000: 1998 Nagano Winter bronze for ski jumping

● $20,000: 2016 Rio Olympic silver for judo
● $15,000: 1968 Mexico City Olympic gold for fencing
● $15,000: 1984 Los Angeles Olympic silver for equestrian
● $15,000: 1992 Albertville Winter bronze medal
● $15,000: 2004 Athens Olympic gold for boxing
● $12,000: 2008 Beijing Olympic silver for baseball
● $10,000: 1924 Chamonix Winter bronze medal
● $10,000: 1936 Olympic silver for equestrian (and other items)
● $10,000: 1948 St, Moritz winner medal set (gold-silver-bronze)
● $10,000: 1956 Melbourne silver medal for football

● $10,000: 1960 Rome bronze medal for shooting
● $10,000: 1964 Innsbruck Winter silver for ice hockey
● $10,000: 1972 Munich Olympic gold for rowing
● $10,000: 1980 Lake Placid Winter gold medal sample
● $10,000: 2006 Turin Winter silver for speed skating

Not many Paris 2024 medals have come up for auction yet, so the two in this sale are noteworthy for collectors eager to update their displays.

There is also an excellent selection of Olympic torches – 36 lots in all – including the famed 1968 Grenoble Winter Games torch, of which only 33 were made. The rarity creates not only a high estimated sales price, but also a unpublished reserve price, below which the item will not be sold. There are seven torches offered at a sales estimate of $10,000 or more:

● $150,000: 1968 Grenoble Winter torch
● $50,000: 1952 Oslo Winter torch
● $30,000: 1994 Lillehammer Winter torch
● $20,000: 1972 Sapporo Winter torch
● $20,000: 2024 Paris Olympic torch
● $15,000: 1956 Melbourne Olympic torch
● $15,000: 1988 Calgary Winter torch

The Oslo ‘52 torch – the first Winter Games torch relay – is a scarce find, with only 95 produced.

For those interested in starting an instant collection of torches, a combination pack of torches from Los Angeles 1984 and Winter Games torch from Nagano 1998 and Salt Lake City 2002 is available, with a projected price of $6,000. But six bids are in already!

There are also some interesting, unusual items, expected to bring strong interest:

● $25,000: 1936 Berlin IOC Chain of Office
● $15,000: 1904 St. Louis participation medal
● $15,000: 1932 Lake Placid Winter IOC badge (1 of 20)
● $15,000: 1938 FFF FIFA World Cup winner’s medal
● $10,000: 1948 St. Moritz Winter IOC President badge
● $10,000: 41 Participation medals from 1896-Vancouver 2010

The St. Louis 1904 participation medal is one of the rarest and most sought-after, and is not included in the 41-medal offer of most of the participation medals from the 1896 Athens Games to the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games.

The 1938 FIFA World Cup gold medal was not a FIFA award, but created by the host French Football Federation and in addition to being awarded to the winning Italian team, these were also given to some FIFA officers and officials from the Federation Francaise de Football.

The cutest item has to be a 1970s Springbok Editions poster from the Peanuts series, featuring a smiling Snoopy thinking “Support the Olympics…Hug an Athlete!”

The latest RR Auction is open for bidding, but open bidding will close on 17 July.

A sponsored post by RR Auction.

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PANORAMA: LA28 splits sailing in L.A. and Long Beach; what do coxswains say? Popovici screams second-fastest ever 46.71 100 Free!

By
Rich Perelman
-
Olympic board sailing site Belmont Shore in Long Beach, California (Neighborhoods photo)

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Games 2028: Los Angeles ● The stomping and screaming campaign by L.A. City Council member Tim McOsker paid off on Monday when the LA28 organizers announced a split of the 2028 sailing competition between the already-announced Belmont Shore Marina in Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro.

Sailing had been projected for Long Beach for many years and an Olympic Classes Regatta has been held there for decades. But McOsker blew up the 28 March meeting of the Los Angeles City Council, loudly demanding that sailing be held in his district, in San Pedro.

The announcement said the events will be split:

“The Port of Los Angeles will host six (6) boat events: Men’s and Women’s Dinghy, Men’s and Women’s Skiff, Mixed Dinghy and Mixed Multihull. Belmont Shore in Long Beach will host four (4) board events: Men’s and Women’s Windsurfing and Men’s and Women’s Kite.”

The agreement is a notable victory for former Los Angeles Yacht Club Commodore and Director Kelly Marie, who approached McOsker with the idea to bring sailing events to San Pedro, where the sport was held for the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

● Anti-Doping ● The important Compliance Review Committee of the World Anti-Doping Agency met in mid-June, and an announcement more than two weeks later confirmed the current countries currently not compliant as the anti-doping organizations in Cameroon and Russia, with Iran and Sri Lanka on the “watchlist” for non-compliance.

There has been no mention of the U.S., which has not paid its dues of $3.625 million for 2024 and continues to object to WADA’s handling of the 2021 Chinese swimming doping incident.

● Biathlon ● The International Biathlon Union had paid less prize money during its World Cup season in Olympic season – such as the 2025-26 season coming up – but no more. The IBU Executive Board confirmed its decision “to increase by 1.6 million Euros for the Olympic season to bring it level with seasons when there are IBU World Championships.

“The increase is focused on the top positions in individual competitions and will see a World Cup victory being worth 20,000 Euros in IBU prize money. The total prize money planned for the season is over 9.3 million Euros which represents a more than 56% increase since the last Olympic season in 2021-22.”

● Rowing ● Fascinating, if small, study done at the University of Limerick, of calls by coxswains during races, with Associate Professor of Sport Science Frank Nugent (IRL) telling World Rowing:

“There was practically no silence throughout a race. It’s a fairly big demand on someone to talk non-stop for five and a half to seven minutes, and it’s much higher than observed in other team sports. Coxing is a real niche specialised skillset that deserves a lot more research in the future.”

According to the study:

“The analysis revealed that over 40 per cent of calls were technical calls, predominantly with an internal focus directed at body movements; there was some limited use of externally focused calls talking about the boat or blades. Another 38.6 per cent of calls were motivational and 21 per cent were tactical, talking about making a change or where the boat was in the race. Coxes made an average of 32 calls per minute.”

● Swimming ● Amazing swim from Romanian star David Popovici, who won the men’s 100 m Freestyle at the European U-23 Championships in Samorin (SVK) on Saturday (28th) in 46.71, the no. 2 performance of all time, behind only the 46.40 world record by China’s Zhanle Pan at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Popovich had been the world-record holder at 46.86 at the 2022 European Championships, but was surpassed by Pan at the 2024 Worlds (46.80). Now, Popovici is the world leader in 2025 in both the 100 Free and the 200 Free (1:43.64), also at the European U-23s.

The Romanian won the 200 m Free in Paris in 2024 and a bronze in the 100 m Free.

● Weightlifting ● Four 2024 USA Weighting national title holders repeated in 2025, at the USA Weightlifting National Championships in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Paris Olympian Mary Thiesen-Lappen was the only repeat winner among the women from 2024 at the 2025. She defended her 2024 title in the women’s highest class, now +86 kg, lifting a combined 258 kg, over Caitlin Thilges (248 kg). Four-time Worlds medalist Mattie Rogers won the 77 kg class at 241 kg.

Among the men, Olympic 61 kg bronze winner Hampton Morris took the men’s 71 kg class, lifting a combined 324 kg to win easily. There were three repeat winners from 2024: Christopher Camenares in the 65 kg class at 236 kg; Brandon Victorian defended his 89 kg title from 2024 by winning the 88 kg class with 350 kg, and Chrisanto D’Agostino, the 96 kg winner in 2024, won at 94 kg this time at 343 kg.

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CYCLING: UCI annual report shows historically-high reserves of CHF 76.1 million, which will support reduced revenue from 2025 Worlds in Rwanda

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ UCI ANNUAL REPORT ≡

In 2021, the Union Cycliste Internationale decided to take its most important event, the World Road Championships to Kigali, Rwanda to create more excitement around the sport in Africa.

There are costs to doing that, as the UCI Annual Report for 2024, released Monday demonstrated. The report’s financial update noted:

“The year 2025 will be characterised by the first UCI Road World Championships to be organised in Africa (in Kigali, Rwanda). In this respect, the budget shows a particularity because when the UCI Road World Championships were awarded to Kigali, the Management Committee exceptionally approved a reduced organisation rights fee.

“It was considered that this initiative, which was part of the UCI’s development and solidarity mission, justified a financial effort. The 2025 budget therefore presents a logical loss for a non-Olympic year characterised by a drop in the organisation rights fee for its flagship annual event.

“However, given the surpluses of the last two cycles, the UCI has an excellent financial base, and the 2025 budget will not put the UCI’s finances under pressure.”

But the federation, as noted, has plenty to lean on to cushion the loss of its usual revenues from its World Road Champs. In 2024 (please note that CHF 1 = $1.26):

● CHF 70.080 million in operating revenue for 2024, compared to CHF 46.270 for 2023, thanks in part to CHF 24.756 million in IOC television rights money (about $25.7 million U.S.).

● CHF 47.502 million in expenses, compared to CHF 51.277 million in 2023.

● CHF 25.908 million in surplus after some investment gains, vs. a loss of CHF 3.408 million for 2023.

It was a good year, and the UCI balance sheet has never looked better:

● Assets expanded to CHF 134.254 million, including CHF 38.716 million in cash.

● Consolidated reserves were at an all-time high at CHF 76.139 million, up from CHF 50.183 million at the end of 2023. Pretty impressive.

In terms of its competitions, the UCI gets most of its money from road racing, especially the Road Championships. In 2024:

● CHF 14.576 million: Road
● CHF 4.980 million: Mountain Bike
● CHF 2.774 million: Track
● CHF 2.586 million: Cyclo-Cross
● CHF 1.550 million: BMX Freestyle
● CHF 1.253 million: BMX Racing
● CHF 851,000: all others

The financial report noted the federation’s financial strength should extend well into the future:

“The UCI’s financial solidity has been strengthened by the securing of our main media and commercial revenues, as well as by the allocation of most of our major UCI World Championships until the end of 2030.

“This operational visibility will enable the UCI to better define the allocation of its financial resources for the next cycle. A financial plan will be drawn up for the next eight years and will define the resources needed to implement the Agenda 2030 and strategic projects for our International Federation.”

The UCI has benefitted from strong interest in road racing and increased interest in mountain biking, so it can afford to go to Rwanda in September. Another massive World Cycling Championships involving most of the federation’s disciplines is scheduled for 2027 in the Haute-Savoie region of France.

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LOS ANGELES 2028: U.S. Transport Secretary rips City of L.A. and L.A. Metro over ICE riots; is this foreshadowing a Federal takeover in 2028?

By
Rich Perelman
-
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, at a May 2028 news conference (Photo: C-SPAN video screen shot).

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≡ 2028 GAMES TRANSIT ≡

“I am writing you with deep concern over law-abiding citizens in the Los Angeles metropolitan area being unable to access federally funded transit services because of your failure to stop the violent riots in your city.

“Closing stations, cancelling bus routes, and redirecting rail lines is a direct result of your inability or unwillingness to control the protests and violent mobs that paralyzed Los Angeles.”

That’s the opening of a harsh letter to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass from U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, published last Thursday in a news release where Duffy added:

● “Secretary Duffy also noted the failed response to the unrest raises serious questions about the city’s ability to keep citizens and tourists safe during the 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2028 Olympics.”

● Said Duffy: “[California Governor] Gavin Newsom and Karen Bass failed to show up for Angelenos as their city was terrorized by anti-ICE riots. If President Donald Trump hadn’t stepped in and sent the National Guard and Marines in, LA would still be on fire.”

Duffy further asked for a report from Bass within 30 days that, among other things:

“Summarizes what resources will be deployed to ensure fans can get to the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Summer Olympics games safely and on time.”

Duffy’s letter to Bass also included this ominous paragraph:

“The weak leadership you have shown in these critical times does not inspire confidence in your ability to represent one of the Nation’s largest cities as it hosts one of the world’s biggest events, the FIFA World Cup 2026 and the LA 2028 Summer Olympics (collectively, the LA games), where millions from around the globe are expected to visit Los Angeles. Based on your slow action to quell the riots, the Department of Transportation is deeply concerned about your ability to keep the commuting public safe and to handle the transportation logistics needed for the LA
games.”

This comes just eight days after Duffy sent a much happier letter to Janice Hahn, the Chair of the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which promised nothing but expressed a desire to help, including “We are all committed to making the Games a resounding success for the United States.”

Duffy also sent a letter to the Metro chief executive, Stephanie Wiggins, which did not mention the 2028 Games, but emphasized safety and security:

“People traveling on the LACMTA system to reach their jobs, education, health care, and other critical services need to feel secure and travel in a safe environment free of crime; and workers who operate the system need to be sure of a safe operating environment to provide transportation service. The transit riders and workers of Los Angeles deserve nothing less.”

In March, Duffy sent similar letters to the transit agencies in New York and Washington, D.C.

Observed: So, what happens now?

The letters to Bass and Wiggins about the Los Angeles situation during the protests and violence earlier in June attendant to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions in the area may simply be an expansion of the pressure applied to New York and Washington in March. The Trump Administration has shown no hesitancy to criticize the leadership of Democrat-led large cities.

But there could be something else getting started.

In 2000 and 2001, the U.S. General Accounting Office created reports on Federal spending on U.S.-hosted Olympic Games, which found $17 million (in 1999 dollars) were used to support spectator transit for the Atlanta 1996 Games, and $58.5 million (not including capital costs) for spectator transit for the Salt Lake City 2002 Winter Games.

Conversely, L.A. Metro has asked for $3.2 billion in Federal funds for the 2028 Games, including an “order-of-magnitude” request for $2.015 billion for the Games Enhanced Transportation Network (GETS). Despite the request, no money was allocated to Metro for the Games in the Fiscal Year 2025 Federal budget and none is proposed for the Fiscal Year 2026 budget.

Could it be that the U.S. Department of Transportation sees itself as the answer to these issues for 2028? The GAO report noted that about 1,000 military service personnel were used as drivers in Atlanta, and the Federal government has a lot of buses.

Beyond being unhappy with the approach to the protests and riots earlier in the month, Duffy’s letter does not say what he plans to do for the 2028 Games. But the request for a report lays the groundwork for potentially declaring the local plan for 2028 Games transit as unworkable and requiring the Federal government to take over.

The Trump Administration is already involved in the Games, as the U.S. Secret Service is already the lead agency on security since the Olympic and Paralympic Games was declared a National Special Security Event (NSSE) – as is the annual NFL Super Bowl – in June 2024. And Trump called out the National Guard and the Marines to secure Federal sites in Los Angeles during the recent protests. 

It may be getting even more involved.

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U.S. OLYMPIC & PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE: Who were the winners in National Governing Body funding in 2024?

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ USOPC NGB SPENDING ≡

With the release of its financial statements for 2024, the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee also included a recap of the funds paid to athletes and to the U.S. National Governing Bodies in 2024. It’s a long list, but there were some clear winners.

Of the stated $191 million-plus distributed to athletes and NGBs, the breakdown shown was:

● $55.71 million in direct Athlete Grants
● $21.74 million in Athlete Services
● $78.63 million in NGB Grants
● $34.96 million in NGB Services

The total shown is $191.04 million in 2024. The athlete and NGB grants were spread out over 59 National Governing Bodies: 34 Olympic, nine Winter Olympic, eight Paralympic and eight Pan American sports. That’s a lot of sports. But the breakdown of the NGB funding (grants and services) was decidedly in favor of the Olympic sports in 2024:

● 67.7% or $75.39 million to Olympic sports
● 18.3% or $20.40 million to Olympic Winter sports
● 13.5% or $15.07 million to Paralympic sports
● 0.4% or $475,074 to the Pan American sports

And which Olympic-sport National Governing Bodies got the most money (grants and services)? Let’s start with the big two, which combined for 62 of the 126 medals won by Americans at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games (total medals won in parentheses):

● 1. $10.80 million: USA Track & Field (34)
● 2. $6.70 million: USA Swimming (28)
● 3. $4.18 million: US Rowing (2)
● 4. $4.15 million: USA Volleyball (2)
● 5. $4.06 million: USA Gymnastics (9)

● 6. $3.65 million: USA Cycling (6)
● 7. $3.37 million: USA Rugby (1)
● 8. $3.03 million: USA Shooting (5)
● 9. $2.94 million: USA Water Polo (1)
● 10. $2.86 million: USA Wrestling (7)

The top 10 accounted for 95 of the 126 medals won by the U.S. in Paris. Of note was USA Fencing, which won four medals, but ranked only 13th in funding.

The bottom 10:
● 34. $170,877: USA Handball (did not qualify)
● 33. $254,629: USA Golf (1)
● 32. $254,996: USA Pentathlon (0)
● 31. $545,224: USA Badminton (0)
● 30. $587,635: U.S. Tennis Assn. (2)

● 29. $697,922: USA Table Tennis (0)
● 28. $726,826: Breaking (in-house) (1)
● 27. $767,005: American Canoe Association (2)
● 26. $925,300: USA Surfing (1)
● 25. $932,143: USA Weightlifting (2)

The low amounts for golf and tennis are understandable, as the players come from existing, wealthy professional tours. The other eight combined for nine medals; the 10 listed NGBs were the only ones to receive less than $1 million in grants and services from the USOPC.

What is also true is that not one of these NGBs – those in the top 10 or the bottom 10 – will tell you that they received enough money from the USOPC. In fact, that’s true for all 60 NGBs.

And the number of governing bodies to support keeps expanding. When the Amateur Sports Act of 1978 was passed, giving the then-U.S. Olympic Committee jurisdiction over the Olympic Movement on the U.S., there were 28 Olympic NGBs (summer and winter) and 34 NGBs when counting the Pan American Games sports.

For 2028, add in cricket, flag football and lacrosse, raising the total to 63.

For the winter National Governing Bodies, whose allocations will increase in 2025 looking ahead to the 2025 Winter Games in Milan Cortina, the leader – as always – was U.S. Ski & Snowboard at $8.81 million, second only to USA Track & Field.

Next up were US Speedskating at $2.26 million, USA Bobsled & Skeleton at $2.19 million, USA Hockey at $1.61 million and U.S. Figure Skating at $1.46 million.

It’s a lot of money that has to go to a lot of places, a reality that is not often considered by the International Olympic Committee or Olympic organizing committees when they add sports to the programs of the Olympic and Winter Games.

And, as noted above, no matter what the amount, it’s never enough.

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PANORAMA: Fab 9.75 100 m world lead for Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson, American shot record 68-8 3/4 for Jackson; Hill beats J. Lyles!

By
Rich Perelman
-
Jamaica’s 100 m Olympic silver winner Kishane Thompson (Photo: Dan Vernon for World Athletics).

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Games 2028: Los Angeles ● In a move by the State of California budget office, $18 million is apparently being channeled to the L.A. Metropolitan Transportation Authority to assist with the “Games Route Network,” by siphoning off some of the state’s gas tax revenues.

State Sen. Roger Niello (R-Carmichael) complained to FoxBusiness.com:

“The infrastructure will be exactly the same when they’re done as it was before they start – and gas tax money is intended for infrastructure improvements; new infrastructure; repairing infrastructure, and that’s not what they’re doing here.

“I don’t have a problem with helping LA out with their logistics for the Olympics, but I don’t think the state should pay for it, regardless of where it comes from.”

Even with $18 million in help, Metro is looking for an estimated $210.9 million for the Games Route Network aspect of its 2028 Games transit plan, for which it has asked the Federal government for $3.2 billion in funding.

● Athletics ● Sad news that Bill Dellinger, the 1964 Olympic 5,000 m bronze medalist and a legendary coach at Oregon, passed away on Friday (27th) at age 91. Coached by Bill Bowerman at Oregon, Dellinger was a collegiate star, winning the NCAA mile in 1954 and the 5,000 m in 1956. He went on to compete in three Olympic Games – 1956-60-64 – and won the Tokyo bronze.

He turned to coaching, eventually joining Bowerman at Oregon in 1968 and becoming head coach in 1973. He coached legendary Oregon stars including Steve Prefontaine, Matt Centrowitz, Paul Geis, Rudy Chapa, Alberto Salazar, Joaquim Cruz and more. His teams won four NCAA men’s cross-country titles and 1984 NCAA track & field title.

He coached 23 cross-country All-Americans and 58 track & field All-Americans and more than a dozen Olympians. Dellinger was quiet, but direct, and was beloved by his teams.

● Basketball ● Jordan forfeited Sunday’s Group C game against Israel in the FIBA men’s U-19 World Cup, in Lausanne (SUI) in response to Israel’s ongoing war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

FIBA has not taken any action against Jordan, which is 0-2 in the group and slated to play the host Swiss on Tuesday (1st). Jordan and Israel signed a peace treaty in 1994, but Jordan has a significant Palestinian population which has railed against Israel’s response to the 7 October 2023 raid by Hamas which instigated the Israeli response.

≡ RESULTS ≡

● Athletics ● Hot sprinting at the Jamaican national championships in Kingston, with Olympic silver winner Kishane Thompson, 24, running the fastest men’s 100 m in 10 years (!), winning the final in 9.75, with just 0.8 m/s of aiding wind.

That makes him no. 6 on the all-time list and no. 4 all-time Jamaica; only countrymen Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake and Asafa Powell have run faster, along with Americans Tyson Gay and Justin Gatlin.

Behind Thompson in Kingston were Oblique Seville (9.84) and Ackeem Blake (9.88 lifetime best), now nos. 2-6 on the 2025 year list.

The women’s 100 had Tina Clayton with lifetime bests in the semifinals (10.93) and final (10.88 +0.1) to move to no. 3 in the world for 2025, ahead of rapidly-returning Shericka Jackson (10.88) and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (10.91), qualifying for her ninth Worlds team! Twin sister Tia Clayton equaled her lifetime best of 10.86 in the semis, but did not finish in the final.

At the ATX Sprint Classic in Georgetown, Texas, Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill finally beat a Lyles, but it was young brother Josephus, in a wind-aided heat of the men’s 100 m.

Hill finished third in heat two of six in the 100 – aided by a +2.7 m/s wind – with Lawrence Johnson (10.00w), David Foster (10.08w) and Javonte Harding (10.09w) ahead of him, with Hill at 10.10w, his fastest ever. Lyles was fifth at 10.25w.

Hill ditched the finals, with East Texas A&M’s Ibrahim Fuseini (GHA) putting up the fastest time among the five finals races at 9.85w (+2.4).

Two-time World Champion Chase Jackson set her second American Record and claimed the world lead in the women’s shot at 20.95 m (68-8 3/4) at the annual Iron Wood Classic in Rathdrum, Idaho.

Her big throw came in round one and she fouled the next two, then uncorked a 20.45 m (67-1 1/4) bomb in the fourth round, and had two more fouls. It’s not just another American Record, but the furthest throw in the world since 2012, when New Zealand star Valerie Adams reached 21.11 m (69-3 1/4)!

Jackson now ranks 35th all-time, but beyond the drugged-up Eastern Europeans of the late 20th Century, Jackson is no. 4 among putters with their bests in the 21st Century. That’s impressive.

Maggie Ewen of the U.S. was second at 19.69 m (64-7 1/4). World Champion Lagi Tausaga of the U.S. won the women’s discus at 66.59 m (218-5) and 2019 World Champion DeAnna Price won the women’s hammer at 76.82 m (252-0). In the men’s shot, Payton Otterdahl got a seasonal best of 22.09 m (72-5 3/4).

At the European Team Championships, emerging star Jan Stefela (CZE), the 2025 European Indoor silver star, climbed over 2.33 m (7-7 3/4) for a new world-leading mark, and Olympic long jump supremo Miltiadis Tentoglou (GRE) exploded out to a world-leading 8.46 m (27-9 1/4) in the second round. That’s also a world leader and his eighth-best meet ever.

Dutch star Femke Bol moved to no. five on the 2025 world list in the women’s 400 m with a 49.48 win, her fifth-fastest ever.

● Badminton ● At the BWF World Tour U.S. Open in Council Bluffs, Iowa, American star Beiwen Zhang reached her ninth career BWF World Tour final and third in the U.S. Open, facing India’s Tanvi Sharma.

She came through for the home crowd, winning her fourth career World Tour title, 21-11, 16-21, 21-10.

In the men’s Singles final, fourth-seed Ayush Shetty (IND) swept three-seed Brian Yang (CAN), 21-18, 21-13. Chinese Taipei teams won the men’s and women’s Doubles, and Denmark won the Mixed Doubles.

● Basketball ● Spain and the Netherlands won their first-ever FIBA 3×3 World Cup golds in Ulaanbaatar (MGL), with the Spanish men defeating first-time finalist Switzerland, 21-16, in the final.

Spain was only third (2-2) in Pool D, which was won by the Swiss (3-1), but beat Germany in its semifinal, 21-15, while the Swiss ousted top-ranked Serbia, 21-11. The U.S. men’s team of Henry Caruso, Mitch Hahn, James Parrott and Dylan Travis finished fifth, winning their four group matches, but then losing to Germany, 22-14, in the quarters.

The Dutch women (2-2) were third in Pool B and Mongolia was the runner-up in Pool D, but both fought their way to the final. The Netherlands won a play-in game over Hungary (21-9), then beat Australia (21-11) in the quarters and Canada (21-15) in the semis. Mongolia needed overtime to get past China in the play-in, then got past the U.S. and Poland – in overtime (18-17) – in their semi. The Dutch won the final by 15-9.

The American women – Morgan Maly, Sarah Strong, Mikaylah Williams and Sahara Williams – finished sixth, also winning their four group matches but falling to Mongolia, 18-15 in the quarterfinals.

● Canoe-Kayak ● At the ICF Slalom World Cup in Prague (CZE), Olympic women’s C-1 bronze medalist Evy Leibfarth of the U.S. collected her first career World Cup gold, winning the K-1 in 97.76 with zero penalties. That was enough to beat two-time World Cup winner Camille Prigent (FRA: 98.48/0), and her first victory after seven other medals (0-5-2).

Leibfarth came back to get a bronze in the women’s Kayak Cross final, with Czech Tereza Kneblova the winner, ahead of Prigent. Zuzana Pankova (SVK/103.29/0) won the women’s K-1 over Slovenia’s Eva Alina Hocevar (103.92/0).

France dominated the men’s event, with Paris Olympic silver medalist Titouan Castryck (86.35/0) and Anatole Delassus (87.38/0) going 1-2 in the K-1. The French swept the C-1 with Paris Olympic champ Nicolas Gestin (94.11/2), Mewen Debliquy (94.14/0) and Yohann Senechault (94.19/0). New Zealand’s Finn Butcher won the men’s Kayak Cross.

● Fencing ● The U.S. dominated the Pan American Championships in Rio de Janeiro (BRA), five of the six individual titles, and five of six team events.

The men’s Foil was won by three-time Olympic medalist Alexander Massialas over teammate Nick Itkin, the Paris 2024 bronzer, 15-14; the men’s Epee went to Tristan Szapary over Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion Ruben Limardo Gascon (VEN), 15-7, and the Sabre was another all-American final, as Colin Heathcock edged William Morrill, 15-14.

The U.S. men won the Team Foil, 45-18, over Canada; Venezuela defeated the U.S. in the Team Epee final, 45-32, and the Americans took the Sabre Team final over Canada, 45-17.

Olympic champ Lee Kiefer of the U.S. won the women’s Foil final, 15-12 over Canada’s Eleanor Harvey; the Epee final went to Isabel Di Tella (ARG) over Ruien Xiao (CAN), 13-12, and the Sabre final went to American Maia Chamberlain by 15-12 over Natalia Botello (MEX).

The American women won the Foil Team final over Canada, 45-31, the Epee Team final over Canada, 41-25, and the Sabre final against Argentina, 45-28.

● Rowing ● Romania took three wins to highlight World Rowing’s World Cup II in Lucerne (SUI), winning both Pairs events and the women’s Eight. Florin Arteni and Florin Lehaci won the men’s Pair in 6:17.57; Maria Rusu and Olympic silver star Simona Radis took the women’s Pair in 6:59.04 and the Romanian women – the Paris winners – won the Eight in 6:02.92.

Britain won the men’s Quadruple Sculls (5:39.65) and the women’s Single Sculls with Paris Olympic Quadruple Sculls gold winner Lauren Henry (7:15.21).

The U.S. had a large presence, and won the women’s Four with Alexandria Vallancey-Martinson, Camille Verdermeer, Azja Czajkowski and Etta Carpender in 6:21.31. American boats claimed a third in the men’s Quadruple Sculls, sixth in the Four and fifth in the men’s Eight. Katheryn Flynn and Grace Joyce were fifth in the women’s Double Sculls and Teal Cohen and Kaitlin Knifton were fifth in the women’s Pair. The women’s Eight was second to the Romanians by less than two seconds.

New Zealand’s Logan Ulrich won the men’s Single Sculls (6:44.92) and Serbia won the men’s Double Sculls with Marvin Mackovic and Nikolaj Pomenov (6:10.48). Australia took the men’s Four and Germany won the Eight.

China’s Yunxia Chen and Ling Zhang took the women’s Double Sculls in 6:45.20.

● Sailing ● The Kieler Woche – “Kiel Week” – which dates back to 1882, concluded on Sunday, with the French scoring three wins in the Olympic classes. Erwan Fischer and Clement Pequin won the 49er class (56.6 net points), Tim Mourniac and Aloise Retornaz took the Nacra 17 title with a very low 23.0 score, and Marion Courturier, Ambar Papazian and Lucie Belbeoch swept the top places in the women’s IQ Foil.

Britain got two wins, including Freya Black and Saskia Tiday in the women’s 49erFX class (42.0) by winning the medal race to come from behind, and from Martin Wrigley and Battine Harris (17.0) in the mixed-crew 470.

Italy’s Lorenzo Chaicarini won the ILCA 7 (23.0 net points), Anna Munch (DEN: 43.0) won the women’s ILCA6 class and German Fabian Wolf won the men’s IQ Foil final.

● Sport Climbing ● Slovenia’s two-time Olympic champion Janja Garnbret dominated the IFSC World Cup in Innsbruck (AUT).

She won the women’s Boulder event with a sensational 99.8 score to 69.8 for 2023 Worlds silver winner Oriane Bertone (FRA) and then took the Lead title on Sunday at 41, to 33 for Italian Laura Rogora.

Paris Olympic Combined gold medalist Toby Roberts (GBR) won the men’s Boulder final, 69.8 to 68.6 over Japan’s Olympic runner-up Sorato Anraku, who clinched his third straight seasonal Boulder title.

Five men got to the top in the Lead final, with Neo Suzuki (JPN) winning on his semifinal score, and Roberts second.

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FOOTBALL: Analyzing the 57%-of-capacity FIFA Club World Cup so far; U.S. men edge Costa Rica on penalties while the women shut down Ireland, 4-0

By
Rich Perelman
-
U.S. star keeper Matt Freese (Photo: U.S. Soccer/USMNT on X).

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≡ A U.S. FOOTBALL SUNDAY ≡

Lots of football action in the U.S. on Sunday, with the FIFA Club World Cup playoffs continuing and matches featuring both the U.S. men – in the CONCACAF Gold Cup playoffs – and the U.S. women in a friendly.

As far as the FIFA Club World Cup, the 48 matches of the group stage closed with FIFA reporting 1,667,819 fans attending, with an average of 34,746.

That was cited as about 57% of the combined capacities of the 12 sites hosting matches. In terms of crowd sizes by match:

● 10,000 or less: 4 matches
● 10,001-20,000: 11 matches
● 20,001-30,000: 5 matches
● 30,001-40,000: 10 matches
● 40,001-50,000: 4 matches
● 50,001 or more: 14 matches

Real Madrid was the star of the group stage, drawing 62,415 (in Miami), 70,248 (Charlotte) and 64,811 (Philadelphia) for its three matches. Paris St. Germain drew 80,619 (Pasadena), 53,699 (Pasadena) and 50,628 (Seattle) for its three games.

Observed: Is this good or bad? It’s both.

The tournament has hardly been a wild success and it is being closely followed by some and barely at all by most. The popular European clubs have done reasonably well and a lot of the lesser-known clubs have had modest crowds.

From the standpoint of Major League Soccer in the U.S., only Inter Miami made it out of the group stage and it was sent home, 4-0, by Paris St. Germain on Sunday. Los Angeles FC and Seattle were eliminated in the group stage and neither won a game.

The true, short-term benefit of this tournament from FIFA’s standpoint is that it provided real-world feedback for the federation on organizing a tournament in the U.S. Remember, there are no more host-country organizing committees for the FIFA World Cup, or for this Club World Cup. FIFA, operating out of its Coral Gables, Florida offices, is the organizer: it takes in all of the revenue and puts on the event, with local assistance from in-city “host committees” which provide governmental, security, transport and volunteer assistance in return for what it hopes will be a tourism bonanza.

No such bonanza will be coming from this Club World Cup, although some sites will have seen added traffic; Miami (Hard Rock Stadium) and Pasadena (Rose Bowl) had the best attendance in the group stage. But the FIFA World Cup in 2026 will be much bigger and have much more interest, and valuable lessons are being learned.

One of them is about the impact of heat in outdoor stadiums in the U.S. summer; that will be an issue next year.

The U.S. men faced Costa Rica in the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with a back-and-forth game decided by penalties.

The Americans controlled possession from the start, but then defender Max Arfsten was called for a penalty with a hard tackle in the 10th, and defender Francisco Calvo slammed a left-footed shot past U.S. keeper Matt Freese in the 12th for a 1-0 lead.

The U.S. continued on offense, and in the 33rd, forward Malik Tillman had his legs cut out from underneath him near the Costa Rican endline by defender Juan Pablo Vargas, resulting in a penalty. But Tillman hit the left post in the 37th, with lots of pushing and shoving on the field afterward.

Then in the 43rd, a cross from Arfsten sent a cross to forward Diego Luna in the box and he knocked it down and ripped a right-footed laser that deflected off a defender and past Costa Rican keeper Keylor Navas for the 1-1 tie. The U.S. had 71% possession and was up, 9-3, on shots.

Right off the start of the second half, the U.S. was on the attack again and Tillman sent a lead pass from the top of the box to a wide-open Arfsten on the left side and he finished with a rocket to the far side of the Costa Rican net for a 2-1 lead in the 47th.

But while the U.S. continued in possession, Costa Rica looked for opportunities and in the 71st, defender Carlos Mora split two defenders on the right side, but his shot was saved by Freese. But on the rebound, Mora crossed to a charging striker Alonzo Martinez, who finished easily for the 2-2 tie.

Martinez then hit the post in the 86th, as Costa Rica found more and more offense in the final 20 minutes, but regulation finished 2-2, with the U.S. with 64% possession and 18 shots to seven.

On to penalties, and it was 3-3 after four rounds, then Freese saved Calvo’s fifth-round try. Sub defender John Tolkin took the U.S. try, but Navas slapped it away with his right hand. Sub midfielder Andy Rojas’ try in round six was saved by Freese (his third of the shoot-out), then sub midfielder Damion Downs buried his try and a 4-3 shoot-out win.

As far as the Gold Cup overall is concerned, attendance at the 14 venues (13 in the U.S.) for the 24 group-stage game was 459,603 for an average of 19,150 per game. Only 10 of the 24 group-stage matches drew 20,000 or more, mostly in large, NFL venues, many of which will host World Cup matches in 2026. Five matches had less than 10,000 in attendance.

The semifinals will be on 2 July, with Mexico and Honduras in Santa Clara, and Guatemala and the U.S. in St. Louis. The final will be on 6 July in Houston.

The U.S. women’s national team faced Ireland once again in Cincinnati, Ohio on Sunday, in hot (85 F) temperatures, but once again won by 4-0.

The U.S. started a completely different 11 from the first match, with only one player coming into the match with more than 10 caps. And it took only until the 11th minute for the U.S. to score, with striker Lynn Biyeldolo scoring from the center of the box on a right-footed volley off a perfect cross from forward Emma Sears.

The U.S. controlled the match, but could not get a second goal until the 42nd, when forward Sears sent a right-footed rocket toward the Irish goal that was punched away by Irish keeper Courtney Brosnan. But the ball fell right to defender Izzy Rodriguez, who ripped a left-footed shot into the net for a 2-0 lead. It was Rodriguez’s first goal, in her first national team appearance. The half ended with 73% possession for the U.S. and a 9-3 shots edge.

It was 3-0 in the 66th, as Sears made a great stop on a ball going out of bounds at the Irish endline, passing to midfielder Olivia Moultrie on the right side and her cross was perfectly finished with the right foot by Yazmeen Ryan. It was Ryan’s first international goal in her first cap.

Sub striker Alyssa Thompson scored the fourth goal in the 86th, taking a lead pass from sub midfielder Claire Hutton and slamming the ball past Brosnan for the 4-0 final. The U.S. finished with 73% possession and a 25-3 advantage on shots.

The U.S. women will be in action again on Wednesday in another friendly, this time against Canada in Washington, D.C.

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ATHLETICS: Kipyegon’s sub-4 mile “moonshot” fell off in the final lap, but is now clouded in mystery; what happened?

By
Rich Perelman
-
Kenya's Faith Kipyegon, claiming the women's mile world record in Monaco in 2023! (Photo: Sona Maleter for Diamond League AG)

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≡ WHAT DID SHE ACTUALLY RUN? ≡

Nike’s “Breaking4” spectacle on Friday at the Stade Charlety in Paris was set up as a long-shot try at a women’s four-minute mile by the brilliant Faith Kipyegon, not only the triple Olympic champion in the women’s 1,500 m, but also the world-record holder in the 1,500 m (3:49.04), mile (4:07.64) and formerly at 5,000 m (14:05.20).

Her chances of getting close to four minutes were poor to start, as reported in The Sports Examiner in July 2023, after she set the mile mark at 4:07.64:

“Looking at the men’s 4-minute mile, it took 21 years to go from New Zealand’s Jack Lovelock and his 4:07.6 mark in 1933 to 1954 for Roger Bannister (GBR) to run 3:59.4.

“That period was impacted by World War II, but Swedes Gunder Hagg and Arne Andersson did lower the mile record from 4:06.4 in 1937 to 4:01.4 in 1945.”

That means a women’s sub-4 might come around 2040 with today’s better conditions, shoes, track and so on. Not in 2025.

But Nike put together a spectacle, as they had done for Kenyan marathon star Eliud Kipchoge and his sub-2:00 marathon tries in 2017 (2:00:25) and 2019 (1:59:40). And Kipyegon was game, with a special, wind-resistant suit and special shoes, clinging to 4:00 mile pace through the halfway mark, and close at three-quarters, then falling off.

French coach and statistician P.J. Vazel broke it down brilliantly on X:

At 60.9, 60.8 and 61.3, she was at 3:03.0 at the three-quarters mark, but could manage only 63.9 on the final lap for a final time of 4:06.91, as shown on the timing strip at the top of the screen.

That’s where the controversy started, as moments later, a screen graphic showed her time as 4:06.42, almost half a second faster.

Multiple observers got their stopwatches out and re-timed the race – including Vazel, as accurate as they come – with the unanimous consensus that Kipyegon almost certainly ran 4:06.91 and not 4:06.42.

So what happened?

LetsRun.com inquired with Nike about the time difference, but has not indicated it received an answer.

There’s really no reason to change Kipyegon’s time as she ran the fastest mile in history by a woman – faster than her 4:07.64 world mark from 2023 – so the half-second change would not make a difference that way.

No one is saying, but it’s a switch that statisticians won’t soon forget.

Even with the best-ever time, the mark is not eligible to be ratified as a world record, which everyone knew ahead of time. There are two rules which appear to be out of reach by the way the attempt was set up:

● World Athletics rule 31.1 on records states:

“A World Record shall be made in a bona fide competition which has been duly arranged, advertised and authorised before the day of the event by the Member in whose Country or Territory the event takes place and which has been conducted under and in compliance with the Rules.

“For individual events, at least three athletes and for relay events, at least two teams must be bona fide competitors in the event. Except for Field Events conducted as provided in Rule 9 of the Technical Rules and competitions held outside the stadium under Rules 54 and 55 of the Technical Rules, no performance set by an athlete will be ratified if it has been accomplished during a mixed competition.”

Kipyegon’s try failed on two points: there weren’t three “bona fide” competitors in the race, as British distance stars Jemma Reekie and Georgia Hunter-Bell – the other women in the field – were both announced as running two laps only and not trying to finish. Further, the cadre of 11 men’s pacers makes this a “mixed” competition and ineligible for record consideration.

● World Athletics’ regulations on shoes states that “Bespoke Shoes are not permitted to be worn in any Applicable Competition,” defined as:

“‘Bespoke Shoe’ means an Athletic Shoe that is one-off made to order (i.e. that are only one of its kind) specifically for a single Athlete and is not Available for Purchase.”

There was reporting that Kipyegon’s shoes were a prototype and not a one-off, in which case it would have had to be approved in advance by World Athletics as a “Development Shoe.” Which it was not. 

So, there was no way Kipyegon’s mark – whatever it was – was going to be eligible to be a record of any kind.

None of this should take away from a brilliant effort by Kipyegon, who did run a mile faster than any woman has before. And no other woman has ever run faster than 4:12.33!

Now, at 31, what will Kipyegon do with the rest of her season? Besides this mile event, she has run only once, a 2:29.21 win in the 1,000 m at the Xiamen Diamond League in China in late April. As 2023 World Champion in the 1,500 m and 5,000 m, she has a direct entry in September’s World Athletics Championships and she is obviously very, very fit.

More world records on the way, perhaps, in the Diamond League season? She’s listed to run in this Saturday’s Prefontaine Classic in the women’s 1,500 m!

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PANORAMA: USOPC looking for a Chief Operating Officer; WADA rips U.S. Senate for “Restoring Confidence” bill; Rubiales’ conviction upheld

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Games 2032: Brisbane ● The Queensland government passed The Planning (Social Impact and Community Benefit) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025, with major provisions dealing with energy and home ownership, but also with the 2032 Olympic Games.

The bill allows the Brisbane organizing committee board to be trimmed from 24 to 15 members, “reducing bureaucracy and streamlining processes” and includes authorization to skip multiple planning approvals, “in a bid to ensure projects are not held up by potential legal challenges. It means final planning sign-off rests with the state government, rather than local councils.”

● U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee ● The USOPC is looking for help, specifically someone who can handle some of the organization’s key operations away from sports, with the title of Chief Operating Officer:

“As a key executive partner to the CEO, the Chief Operating Officer (COO) provides leadership, thought partnership, and operational oversight to advance the culture, efficiency, and effectiveness of the organization’s daily operations.

“The COO oversees the USOPC’s strategic planning, finance, information & digital technology, procurement, and facilities management functions with a focus on internal business partnership. This role is responsible for ensuring alignment between strategic priorities and operational effectiveness. The COO should have an eye for efficient processes, while identifying strategic opportunities to create new value for the organization.”

The USOPC has handed the search to the Korn Ferry agency, with the position working out of the Colorado Springs downtown headquarters office.

● National Olympic Committees ● Elections at two major NOCs saw long-time Italian canoe federation chief Luciano Buonfiglio, a 1976 Olympian, elected as the head of his country’s NOC, known as CONI. He received 47 votes to 34 for Luca Pancalli, head of the Italian Paralympic Committee.

In Japan, Seiko Hashimoto, a speed skater in four Olympic Winter Games and cyclist at three Olympic Games, was elected Thursday as the President of the Japanese Olympic Committee, for a two-year term. She served as the head of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee from 2019-21 and successfully oversaw the transition of the event from 2020 to 2021 due to Covid-19.

She continues to serve as a member of the Japanese House of Councillors.

● Anti-Doping ● The World Anti-Doping Agency did not miss a chance to slap back at the passage of S. 233, the “Restoring Confidence in the World Anti-Doping Agency Act of 2025” out of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation on Wednesday (25th).

WADA’s Thursday comment included:

“Boiled down, the bill effectively seeks to embed U.S. bias into WADA’s governance structure with the threat of withholding funding if this is not achieved. Not only is this ironic given [U.S. Anti-Doping chief executive Travis] Tygart’s unfounded allegations of bias to China in connection with the Chinese swimmer cases; it would also undermine WADA’s governance reforms and go against democratic values and principles of good governance. As an international regulatory body, WADA cannot give in to this cash-for-influence ultimatum from any country. One can only imagine what Mr. Tygart would say if China or Russia sought to pass similar legislation. If only he put as much effort into addressing the serious deficiencies with anti-doping in the U.S.”

The war of words continues, unabated.

● Alpine Skiing ● Switzerland’s two-time World Cup champion Lara Gut-Behrami, 34, announced she will retire after the 2025-26 skiing season. She plans to join her husband, Valon Behrami, who will become the sporting director at the Watford football club.

She’s a medal contender for Milan Cortina, having won Olympic gold in the 2022 Beijing Super-G and a Giant Slalom bronze, plus a 2014 Sochi Downhill bronze.

● Baseball ● Former major league shortstop Ruben Tejada of Panama was suspended for four years following a positive test for a metabolite of the prohibited steroid drostanolone from an out-of-competition test last November.

Tejada played for the Mets from 2010-15, then for the Cardinals and Giants in 2016 and Orioles in 2017, finally for the Mets again in 2019. He has been disqualified through 2 December 2028, but can appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

● Fencing ● The NCAA Division I Council approved separate men’s and women’s fencing team championships on Wednesday, splitting the combined championship currently offered. The NCAA statement noted:

“For this change to take effect, it must also be supported by Divisions II and III because fencing operates as a National Collegiate Championship involving teams from all three divisions. Divisions II and III are expected to consider the proposal at their meetings in July.”

If finally approved, this is a major victory for USA Fencing, which has been lobbying for this expansion.

● Football ● Spain’s Audencia Nacional upheld the sexual assault conviction and fine against former Royal Spanish Football Federation chief Luis Rubiales stemming from the awards ceremony following the end of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia.

Appeals by the prosecution to re-try the case, hoping for imprisonment, were dismissed, as were appeals against the acquittals of three other defendants from the Spanish federation.

Rubiales’ attorney said the €10,800 fine imposed on him will be appealed, based on a Spanish Supreme Court ruling.

The U.S. women’s National Team was back in action on Thursday in Commerce City, Colorado, against Ireland, with another young squad that took charge quickly, with three quality chances in the first 12 minutes.

In the 18th, off a short corner, midfield star Rose Lavelle sent a cross to the back side of the Irish net, with defender Ashley Patterson there to head it in for the 1-0 lead.

In stoppage time, midfielder Sam Coffey got the ball at the top of the box, dribbled left and sent a seeing-eye, right-footed shot that found the right side of the net, even with a touch from keeper Courtney Brosnan, at 45+4. The half ended soon after with the U.S. up 2-0, enjoying 61% possession and an 11-0 edge on shots.

Lavelle scored in the 53rd from the center of the box off a right-to-left pass from striker Ally Sentnor and forward Alyssa Thompson soloed from midfield, dribbling to the left side of the Irish goal and sending a rocket to the far side for the 4-0 lead in the 63rd. That was the final; the U.S. had 67% possession and a 26-2 shots advantage.

The two sides will face off again on Sunday, in Cincinnati.

● Volleyball ● Ugo Valensi (FRA) will become the new head of Volleyball World, the private equity partnership with the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB), as of 4 August 2025.

He comes to the position from being the chief executive of Grand Slam Tennis, working with the world’s four premier tennis tournaments, and the Sportfive sports marketing agency. The growth of Volleyball World as a commercial venture to expand the sport’s impact worldwide has been impressive and Valensi will be asked to keep it going.

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ATHLETICS: Kenyan star Kipyegon powers to fastest-ever 4:06.42 in sub-4 mile trial in Paris

By
Rich Perelman
-
Kenyan star Faith Kipyegon, after finishing a 4:06.42 mile time trial in Paris (Image: Nike Breaking4 video screen shot).

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≡ KIPYEGON “BREAKING4″ ≡

The “moonshot” try for a women’s sub-4:00 mile, starring triple Olympic 1,500 m champion Faith Kipyegon of Kenya, had plenty of planning, plenty of technical and promotional support from Nike, and plenty of hope, and ultimately ended with the fastest mile ever run by a woman: 4:06.42.

The run was preceded by a 50-minute warm-up show, hosted by U.S. anchor MJ Acosta-Ruiz, with expert commentators Carl Lewis of the U.S., Olympic women’s 800 m champion Keely Hodgkinson (GBR) and BYU distance coach Diljeet Taylor.

Video segments talked through the setting, with the Stade Charlety chosen thanks to the shielding of the track from the wind, the special suit designed by Nike for better airflow, the pacing lights and the 13-person pacing team. Conditions were good at about 77 F at race time, and perhaps 3,000 people in the stands, spread out into cheering sections.

Kipyegon started off strongly, with five men in front of her, U.S. distance star Grant Fisher just ahead of her on her right and seven behind her, and stormed through three laps in good position:

● 400 m: 60.20
● 800 m: 2:00.75
● 1,200 m: 3:01.84

For comparison, her mile world record of 4:07.64 from Monaco in July 2023 began with:

● 400 m: 62.6
● 800 m: 2:04.6
● 1,200 m: 3:06.7

Her world 1,500 m record of 3:49.04 in Paris on 7 July 2024 started:

● 400 m: 62.4
● 800 m: 2:04.0
● 1,200 m: 3:04.8

So she was much faster by 1,200, but tired a bit in the final half-lap and crossed in 4:06.42, the fastest mile ever run by a woman.

This was not an official world-record attempt, with the pacers and with Kipyegon doing a time trial. But it’s still the fastest mile ever run by a woman by far and only Kipyegon is this good.

Next on the all-time list is Dutch star Sifan Hassan, at 4:12.33 from 2019!

Asked afterwards about the attempt, her first words were:

“Exhausted. I’m tired. I feel good, I tried.”

And as for a women under four minutes? “It’s only a matter of time. … if it’s not me, it will be somebody else.”

All too true.

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INT’L OLYMPIC COMMITTEE: Coventry announces IOC-member-led reviews of host-city selection process and protection of the women’s category

By
Rich Perelman
-
International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry (ZIM) (Photo: IOC video screen shot).

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≡ COVENTRY ERA STARTS ≡

“There was overwhelming support from the IOC members for a pause to be done, and a review, of the Future Host Election process, and we will be setting up a working group to look into this.

“For two main reasons: members want to be engaged more in the process, and secondly, there was a very big discussion in and around when the next host be awarded. We want to use the learnings from L.A. and from Brisbane, as well as the French Alps, who have had a much shorter lead time. And in the case of L.A. and Brisbane, a much longer lead time.

“So there was a lot of discussion from all of the members on when is the appropriate time to select a future host. So for those two reasons, that working group is going to be set up in the next week or so, to start looking into when we should be selecting the future host, and how we should be selecting the future host.”

That was new International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry (ZIM) at a Thursday news conference following a busy for three days in charge, with a day-and-half “Pause and Reflect” session with 70-plus IOC members in Lausanne and then an IOC Executive Board meeting.

She expanded on the desire to revisit the host-selection process:

“The members were in agreement that the way we used to do things is not where we want to go. There’s been some very good reforms to get the future hosts and the selection of host cities to date, but it just felt – and they [members] felt – to be included in the process a little bit more. And to really to be able to better understand the process.

“If you’re not sitting on the Future Host Commission, you’re obviously not getting as much information, and it’s such an important part of what we do, and members get asked a lot in their own home countries, what’s happening and where is it going; they want to better educate themselves. So, these are really the key points that we will be looking at in terms of the review.”

So, no decisions yet (and not for a while). Coventry also stressed that the time is right to analyze the experience of LA28 and Brisbane 2032 – both selected 11 years ahead – against that of Paris (seven years) and French Alps 2030, which was named only in 2024, in terms of the right time to select a future host. 

Coventry also announced a second significant outcome from the member forum:

“There was an overwhelming support … that we should protect the female category.

“And with that, we are going to … not revisit, that we’re going to set up a working group, made up of experts and International Federations. It was agreed by the members that the IOC should take a leading role in this, and that we should be the ones to bring together the experts, bring together the International Federations, and ensure that we find consensus.

“We understand that there will be differences, depending on the sport, but it was fully agreed that, as members and as the IOC, we should make the effort to place emphasis on the protection of the female category and that we should ensure that this is done in consensus with all the stakeholders.”

This was one her pledges during her campaign, and she stressed the need for bringing in everyone who has been involved in this area over more than a decade, especially the federations, who had been on the leading edge of the issue, as well as “cohesion” on the topic, with “scientific and medical research at the core.”

Asked about whether the working group will revisit the controversy at Paris 2024 with gold-medal women’s boxers Yu-Ting Lin (TPE) and Imane Khelif (ALG), Coventry was clear:

“We’re not going to be doing anything retrospectively. We’re going to be looking forward.”

She explained that the “Pause and Reflect” program covered much more:

“We focused on five main topics: the athletes, the Olympic Games, the Olympic Movement, a better world through sport, and then all things revenue generation, reach, engagement; again, very wide scopes, but the engagement from the members was really incredible.”

As to future Games, Coventry noted that “Milano Cortina and L.A. are both on track,” and shared that more than 120,000 applications – with half under age 35 – from 165 countries, have been received for 18,000 volunteer positions for the 2026 Winter Games, and that 50% of the tickets have been sold.

On Los Angeles, LA28 Chair Casey Wasserman reported that he was favorably received at the recent annual meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, in Tampa, Florida, where he spoke about the plans for the 2028 Torch Relay, which is planned to hit all 50 states.

Coventry was pointedly asked about the recent turmoil in Los Angeles and how the IOC can be sure of success there. She was confident:

“When it comes to LA28, again, as I said before, we had a report from the organizing committee and there is so much goodwill from all levels of government, from the state to the Federal. There is an incredible willingness to see that the Olympic Games are a huge success.

“So the reason I mention that is because that gives us faith as the Olympic Movement, that that platform will be there for us to ensure that our values are stuck to, but that our values will also be heard and that we will be able to ensure successful Games for our athletes, but not just for our athletes, but for athletes around the world that are so looking forward to the success of the LA2028 Games.

“We have all heard how the LA84 Games was a huge pinnacle in our Olympic history; so many athletes are looking for to it [2028], so again, it’s our duty to ensure that we work towards that, and as of right now, we see that full commitment coming, across the board.

“And as the CEO, Reynold [Hoover] shared with us yesterday, there is ‘unity of effort’ as he put it … and, again, that was very reassuring for us and we will continue to work towards that as a unifying model in our different stakeholder roles.”

Coventry was asked a couple of times about the “neutral athlete” situation for Russian and Belarusian athletes for the 2026 Winter Games, but the subject was not discussed. It is expected to come up in the September Executive Board meeting.

Good news for U.S. middle-distance star Shannon Rowbury, as the IOC Executive Board formally approved the medal re-allocation for the London 2012 women’s 1,500 m, in which five of the 13 finalists were disqualified for doping.

Turkey’s Asli Cakir Alptekin and Gamze Bulut went 1-2 and were both found to be doping. Original third-place finisher Maryam Yusuf Jamal (BRN) has already been advanced as the winner, and fourth-placer Tatyana Tomashova (RUS) was also disqualified for doping.

So, Ethiopia’s Abeba Aregawi and Rowbury, who finished 5-6, are now – officially – the silver and bronze medalists! Now 40, it’s Rowbury’s only Olympic medal among her three appearances in 2008-12-16; she finished fourth at the Rio 2016 1,500 m. She also won a Worlds bronze at 1,500 m in 2009.

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PANORAMA: Senate committee advances “restore WADA” bill; Jamaica’s Campbell explains move to Turkey; USA Surfing gets major endowment

By
Rich Perelman
-
North wing of the U.S. Capitol, containing the Senate Chamber (Photo: Wikipedia via Scrumshus).

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Anti-Doping ● The U.S. Senate’s Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee advanced S. 233 – Restoring Confidence in the World Anti-Doping Agency Act of 2025 – out of committee and to the Senate floor for consideration on Wednesday. The bill would permanently provide the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy authority to withhold membership dues payable to WADA if it fails to ensure athletes are competing in drug-free Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The bill’s primary backer, Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee) said in a statement:

“Since the [2021] Chinese doping scandal came to light, WADA has done everything it can to intimidate advocates for fair play and stonewall Congress.

“With the Commerce Committee passing my bipartisan Restoring Confidence in the World Anti-Doping Agency Act, we have sent a message to WADA that accountability and oversight are coming. We won’t be silenced by WADA or any international organization that tries to strong arm the United States in our mission to promote fair play in sports.”

U.S. Anti-Doping Agency head Travis Tygart added:

“We are more optimistic than ever that WADA will be fixed, and U.S. taxpayer funding will not be wasted by continuing to fund an organization lacking independence, transparency, and accountability.

“There can be no double standards when it comes to fairness in Olympic and Paralympic sport, and while we all want a strong, independent WADA, it has a long way to go to regain the confidence of all stakeholders, including the U.S. government, as evidenced by the approval of this act. With the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2028 and 2034 Olympic and Paralympic Games soon to be held in the U.S., now is the time to make sure that we’re investing in truly fair sport and giving clean athletes a chance to win the right way.”

A companion bill has been introduced in the U.S. House.

● Athletics ● In a video interview, Jamaican shot star Rajinda Campbell, the Paris 2024 Olympic bronze medalist, explained his application to change allegiance to Turkey. Speaking about the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association:

“I don’t believe that they really understand that it is challenging, one, for track and field. We are not sprinters. So obviously, and I can say, I am still un-sponsored. Yeah. Yeah. You know the adidas contract that the J3 refused to sign? It would have made Track Jamaica 100 times better than where we are now. There were bonuses that benefitted the athlete, not the federation. There were certain things they wouldn’t have control over because it would be directed to the athlete, based on my understanding. And they went against that.

“So, in my eyes, they don’t care about us. So [I decided], it’s time to start. I literally started the year with the mindset of, ‘Yo, this year I’m doing it for me.’ Yeah. As a result, this is the decision I had to make.”

● Cross Country Skiing ● The German ski federation said Wednesday that Victoria Carl, 29, an Olympic Team Sprint gold and 4 x 5 km relay silver at Beijing 2022, tested positive at the World Military Games in March for the prohibited substance clenbuterol.

The Associated Press reported that Carl – the FIS World Cup runner-up in 2025 – “was erroneously given the combination drug Spasmo Mucosolvan containing ambroxol and clenbuterol instead of Mucosolvan containing just ambroxol.” The case is now in the hands of the German anti-doping agency, which will decide on suspensions and possible sanctions.

● Cycling ● Add USA Cycling to the U.S. National Governing Bodies integrating Paralympic sport:

“[T]he U.S. Paralympics Cycling program will officially become part of USA Cycling beginning on July 1, 2025.

“Up to now, USA Cycling and U.S. Paralympics Cycling were operating as two separate entities, collaborating on select initiatives while independently pursuing World, Olympic, and Paralympic medals. After careful consideration, key stakeholders from both organizations agreed that bringing together these two high-performing programs would strengthen support for current and future generations of athletes and maximize performance across all cycling disciplines.

“This move is fueled by a shared belief: integrating Paralympic and Olympic programs within a single National Governing Body creates the best pathway for sustained long-term success. Bringing all Olympic and Paralympic cycling operations together will enhance athlete support, streamline resources, and drive innovation across every discipline.”

● Surfing ● USA Surfing, in a battle with U.S. Ski & Snowboard to be certified by the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee as the National Governing Body for the sport, told The Associated Press that the group has received a multi-million-dollar endowment.

Executive Director Becky Fleischauer told the AP that “USA Surfing has struck multiyear deals for financial backing from Kamaka Responsible Development, which builds housing communities, and with Orange County-based surf company Resin Services. Kamaka also plans to develop a wave pool that can be used for year-round training for USA Surfing athletes.”

Funding has been a weakness for USA Surfing in its application, but it has the backing of the U.S.-resident International Surfing Association.

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TRANSGENDER: U.S. Education Dept. finds California out of compliance with Title IX on transgenders in sports, demands corrections … or else!

By
Rich Perelman
-

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≡ DOE WARNS CALIFORNIA ≡

“Today, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced the conclusion of its Title IX investigations into the California Department of Education (CDE) and the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) for allegations of discrimination against women and girls on the basis of sex. In both cases, OCR has determined that CDE and CIF are in clear violation of Title IX.”

Wednesday’s announcement further specified the grounds:

“Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 requires schools to ensure equal opportunities for girls, including in athletic activities, but California has actively prevented this equality of opportunity by allowing males in girls’ sports and intimate spaces”

and what comes next:

“As a result of the noncompliance finding, OCR has issued a proposed Resolution Agreement to CDE and CIF to resolve their Title IX violations. OCR has offered both entities an opportunity to voluntarily agree to change these unlawful practices within 10 days or risk imminent enforcement action, including referral to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) for proceedings.”

The announcement further described in detail its proposal as to what the California Department of Education (CDE) and California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) are required to do:

“(i) The CDE will issue a Notice to all recipients of federal funding (Recipients) that operate interscholastic athletic programs in California requiring them to comply with Title IX. This will specify that Title IX and its implementing regulations forbids schools from allowing males from participating in female sports and from occupying female intimate facilities, and that Recipients must adopt biology-based definitions of the words ‘male’ and ‘female’;

“(ii) The CDE will issue a Notice advising Recipients that any interpretation of California state law conflicting with the Department’s Resolution Agreement is preempted by federal law under Title IX;

“(iii) The CDE and CIF will rescind any guidance that advised local school districts or CIF members to permit male athletes to participate in women’s and girls’ sports to reflect that Title IX preempts state law when state law conflicts with Title IX;

“(iv) CDE will require all Recipients, including CIF, to restore to female athletes all individual records, titles, and awards misappropriated by male athletes competing in female competitions;

“(v) To each female athlete to whom an individual recognition is restored, CDE will send a personalized letter apologizing on behalf of the state of California for allowing her educational experience to be marred by sex discrimination; and

“(vi) The CDE will require each Recipient and CIF to submit to CDE an annual certification that the Recipient and CIF have complied with Title IX. Accordingly, CDE will also propose to OCR a Monitoring Plan to ensure that Recipients are fully complying with Title IX.”

There is little chance of agreement from the California Department of Education or the CIF, as the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division sent a 28 May letter stating that the inclusion of Jurupa Valley transgender AB Hernandez in the CIF State Track & Field Championships – she won two events and was second in a third – was in violation of Title IX.

California’s reply came on 9 June:

“California Attorney General Rob Bonta today filed a pre-enforcement lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice (U.S. DOJ) in anticipation of imminent legal retaliation against California’s school systems. …

“Today, the California Department of Education notified U.S. DOJ that the state will not certify to its demands, which would require school districts to violate not only existing state law, but also the U.S. Constitution.

“In the lawsuit, Attorney General Bonta asks the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to uphold California’s anti-discrimination law and prevent the Trump Administration from taking retaliatory action, such as withholding or conditioning federal funding, over the state’s refusal to comply with U.S. DOJ’s unlawful demands.”

Further, the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, Bill Essayli, filed a statement of interest in the 31 January 2025 suit, Save Girls’ Sports, et al. v. Thurmond, et al, which concerns students at Martin Luther King High School in Riverside who lost opportunities in favor of transgenders, under California’s AB 1266, allowing participation in sports based on gender identity.

So, the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice are essentially now attacking the California Department of Education (and the CIF) on three sides at once.

There appears to be little interest from the California side in agreeing to any of the demands from the Trump Administration and will send the cases through the courts. That appears to suit Education and Justice just fine; Wednesday’s Education Department announcement points to last week’s U.S. Supreme Court decision in U.S. vs. Skrmetti (23-477), where

“the Supreme Court acknowledged that a person’s identification as ‘transgender’ is distinct from a person’s ‘biological sex.’

“Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.“

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U.S. OLYMPIC & PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE: Audited 2024 financials show the USOPC now the first-ever billion-dollar National Olympic Committee!

By
Rich Perelman
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≡ USOPC 2024 FINANCIALS ≡

Make room for another billionaire. The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee’s audited financial statements for 2024 were released on Wednesday, showing – for the first time – more than $1 billion in total assets:

● $661.199 million in investments
● $199.158 million in cash
● $53.580 million in restricted cash and investments
● $47.800 million in land, buildings and equipment
● $29.576 million in accounts receivable (royalties)
● $15.650 million in inventories, prepaid expenses, other investments

The total is a spectacular $1,018,116,000 – $1.02 billion for those preferring the decimal – up from $971.182 million at the end of 2023.

That the USOPC is a billion-dollar asset corporation is even more spectacular considering it is the only National Olympic Committee in the world which is not at least partially funded by its national government. Instead, the USOPC received income from six major categories in 2024:

● $213.641 million in broadcast revenue (from the IOC)
● $188.834 million in sponsorships-licensing (IOC and USOPC)
● $46.534 million in “special event revenue” (Paris 2024 related)
● $43.067 million in investment income
● $30.466 million in assets released from restrictions
● $29.846 million in contributions (cash and in-kind)

There was also $12.778 million in other items, for a revenue total of $565.166 million. Against this in 2024 was:

● $233.937 million in “athlete excellence”
● $49.567 million in “sport advancement”
● $50.708 million in “community growth”
● $50.030 million in “special event revenue” costs
● $51.534 million in fundraising, sales and administrative

That’s $385.566 million in expenses, so the USOPC had a surplus of $129.570 million for 2024.

The administrative cost of $27.795 million accounting for 7.2% of all expenses and 4.9% of revenue. The USOPC listed a total of 642 employees in calendar year 2024 on its IRS Form 990 tax return.

The USOPC financials also included some dramatic totals for the four-year quadrennial of 2021-24, which are partially impacted by the postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games to 2021. For the four-year cycle:

● $1.607406 billion in total revenue
● $746.410 million from sponsorships-licensing (46.4%)
● $531.866 million from broadcast revenue (33.1%)
● $96.189 million in investment income (6.0%)
● $86.532 million in contributions (cash and in-kind) (5.4%)

That’s 90.9% of the total with the remainder from special-event income and other items.

Expenses were $1.346681 billion for the quad, with $787.054 million (58.4%) for “athlete excellence,” $172.199 million for “sport advancement” and $176.295 million for “community growth.”

Fundraising, marketing and administrative cost $211.133 million for the four years, or 15.7% of expenses, or 13.1% of revenues. Administrative costs of $133.222 million for the quad were 9.9% of expenses or 8.3% of revenues, indicating a downward trend from 2021 to 2024.

The future is also looking bright, as the statements note future “conditional” contributions not yet shown of $107.370 million already pledged, with most of it coming in 2025-26-27.

Way in the back of the financial statements is a fascinating page which details payments made to athletes and the National Governing Bodies as part of the “Athlete Excellence” programming. Four major categories make up the $191.040 million in spending in 2024:

● $55,714,653 in direct “Athlete Grants”
● $21,737,708 in “Athlete Services”
● $78,628,833 in “NGB Grants”
● $34,958,779 in “NGB Services”

This covers not only direct payments to athletes, but travel and Games support, insurance, medical support, coaching and more. A significant part of the money given to the National Governing Bodies also ends up in athlete stipends, but a combined total of all direct-to-athlete funding was not included.

There are a lot of numbers here, and a lot of money. The USOPC has reaped significant rewards from its long-term revenue-sharing deal with the International Olympic Committee – almost $785 million from 2021-24 – and its joint marketing venture with the LA28 organizing committee.

However, even with its billionaire status, the demands on the USOPC to pay more for NGB pipeline development, more for athlete medal performances and the looming possible implosion of the collegiate sports system for sports other than football and basketball, mean there is not close to enough money to achieve everyone’s goals and desires.

But for now, the USOPC can take a few minutes to celebrate – once again – a great 2024, and then get back to getting ready for the Milan Cortina Winter Games in February and LA28 coming soon after.

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PANORAMA: L.A.’s Metro transit facing “fiscal cliff”; Kipyegon tries for sub-4:00 mile Thursday; will Iran play in the U.S. at ‘26 World Cup?

By
Rich Perelman
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Cover slide for the L.A. Metro Transit Agency presentation on the upcoming "fiscal cliff"

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≡ THE 5-RING CIRCUS ≡

● Olympic Games 2028: Los Angeles ● The next meeting of the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board is on Thursday (26th), with one of the agenda items – item 13 – a “status report on the Workplan to Address the Fiscal Cliff” and adopting principles to deal with it.

A presentation to Metro’s Finance, Budget and Audit Committee on 18 June identified Metro Transit near-term projections showing growing deficits in Fiscal Years 2026-27-28-29-30, from $100 million in 2026 expanding to $2.3 billion by 2030.

Parts of these deficits are due to continued subway and rail expansion programs, inflation and Federal funding uncertainty. The projections do not include any 2028 Games funding issues, but the presentation noted that “Preparation for Mega Events” is causing “Short-term resource strain across the agency.”

The situation projects Metro General Fund balance to go negative in Fiscal Year 2026, amid declining revenues. Two of the drivers are future rail operations costing 2.2 times per hour what buses would cost, and a major funding gap – even if delayed – in the Zero-Emissions Bus program.

While trying to maintain service levels, the presentation states this is a “[c]ritical time for Board to consider major decisions to mitigate projected deficits in the coming years.”

The corollary is that Metro has no identifiable resources to throw at a 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games support program, waiting for Federal funding which is not in the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget.

While the LA28 organizing committee is not responsible for spectator transit during the Games, it is counting on Metro to supply most of the transport service for its volunteer workforce.

● Olympic Winter Games 2026: Milan Cortina ● Belarus is appealing the International Skating Union’s decision to limit its entries to 2026 Olympic qualifying to just 13 athletes across figure skating, speed skating and short track.

The appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport was filed on 3 June. The question of Russian and Belarusian participation in 2026 is a prime issue facing new IOC chief Kirsty Coventry.

● Athletics ● Kenya’s three-time Olympic women’s 1,500 champion, Faith Kipyegon, 31, will make a highly-publicized try at a four-minute mile on Thursday (26th) at the Stade Charlety in Paris (FRA).

This “Breaking4″ project, underwritten by Nike, is a herculean task, with Kipyegon trying to improve her world record of 4:07.64 from 2023, set in Monaco. In terms of seeing the attempt:

“Nike will welcome fans to Stade Charléty in Paris on June 26 for the opportunity to support Faith’s historic attempt in person. Nike is also partnering with Box To Box Films to invite supporters from around the world to watch Faith’s moonshot on a livestream broadcast available on Nike’s YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and Douyin accounts, as well as Prime Video.”

The on-line streaming will begin at 7:15 p.m. local time, which is 1:15 p.m. Eastern time or 10:15 a.m. Pacific. Her attempt will begin at 8 p.m. Paris time.

A 50-minute first episode of a documentary. “Breaking4: Faith Kipyegon vs. the 4-Minute Mile” is now available on Prime Video.

At the 64th Zlata Tetra – “Golden Spike” – meet in Ostava (CZE), 17-year-old Australian sensation Gout Gout got a lifetime best of 20.02 to win the men’s 200 m (wind 0.0), beating two-time Diamond League meet winner Reynier Mena of Cuba (20.19).

Australian teammate Peter Bol won the men’s 800 m in 1:43.80, and 18-year-old Kenyan sensation Phanuel Koech won the 1,500 m in 3:29.05, ahead of Isaac Nader (POR: 3:29.37) and American Josh Hoey (lifetime best 3:29.75), moving him to no. 5 all-time U.S. and the sixth American to break 3:30.

Americans went 1-2 in the men’s 110 m hurdles, with Dylan Beard out-leaning Olympic champ Grant Holloway, with both in 13.13 (+0.6). Chris Robinson of the U.S. won the 400 m hurdles in 48.05.

Swedish superstar Mondo Duplantis won the men’s vault at 6.13 m (20-1 1/4), but missed three times at a world record 6.29 m (20-7 1/2). Italy’s Leonardo Fabbri won the shot at 21.70 m (71-2 1/2) with Jordan Geist of the U.S. third (21.09 m/69-2 1/2), while India’s Tokyo Olympic champ Neeraj Chopra took the javelin at 85.29 m (279-10) with Marc Minnicello of the U.S. in sixth (80.15 m/262-11).

Thelma Davies (LBR) won the women’s 100 m in a lifetime best 10.91 (+0.6) ahead of Marie-Josee Ta Lou-Smith (CIV: 10.92), with Cambrea Sturgis of the U.S. in fifth (11.19). World leader Salwa Eid Naser (BRN) won a major 400 m showdown in 49.15, beating Lynna Irby-Jackson of the U.S. (49.82) and Dutch hurdles star Femke Bol (49.98).

South Africa’s Prudence Sekgodiso moved to no. 2 in the world in the women’s 800 m at 1:57.16, beating Oratile Nowe (BOT: 1:57.49). Nigeria’s world-record holder Tobi Amusan took the women’s 110 m hurdles in a speedy 12.45 (+1.7).

Let’s call it “Allman joy” for U.S. discus star and Olympic champion Valarie Allman, who notched her 24th straight win with a final-throw victory at the Meeting de Paris on Friday.

She was trailing Dutch thrower Jorinde van Klinken’s fourth-round leader of 66.42 m (217-11), but Allman had one more throw in her and stole the event with a clutch toss of 67.56 m (221-8)!

She said afterwards:

“When your technique is off, it really throws you. I was doing the first part of the throw right, but I was still not getting it. As each round went on, it became more stressful, that is the beauty of the field events. It only takes one throw which can be in the last round, and that can be very exciting.

“This is not a good habit to leave everything ‘til last, at least it is not a habit that I like. I am very grateful to have be training and preparing for all sorts of situations. This is one of the scenarios we trained for, having two fouls, not being in the lead, and still coming out with a win.

“It is definitely a skill to be able to believe in yourself and knowing that you can still find yourself in the competition, but my heart was through the roof tonight.”

Next up for her is the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon, on 5 July. No. 25?

● Football ● Multiple reports speculating on what will happen with Iran, which has already qualified out of the Asian confederation for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

There are no World Cup groups with matches played exclusively outside of the U.S., which has 11 of the 16 host cities. The closest in Group A, in which Mexico – as a host – is already assigned. Five of the six group games will be in Mexico City, Zapopan or Guadalupe – all in Mexico – with one game in Atlanta. So if Iran were maneuvered into slot A3 at the Final Draw in December, it could avoid coming to the U.S. completely in the group stage. But it would have to win the group to have Round of 32 and possibly Round of 16 games in Mexico City.

Israel is also in the picture, competing in UEFA Group I, with Norway, Italy, Estonia and Moldova, with the winner qualifying for 2026 and the runner-up to a playoff. So far, Israel is 2-1 and second with six points, behind Norway (4-0: 12), and has five games remaining: two each with Italy and Moldova and one more with Norway, finishing in mid-November.

Israel has played in the FIFA World Cup only once, in 1970.

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